FHWA Announces Final Rule to Improve Safety for Highway Construction Workers

Washington, DC (WorkersCompensation.com) – On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced final changes to rules governing highway construction worker safety.

Officials said the updates to the Work Zone Safety and Mobility Rule and the Temporary Traffic Control Devices Rule would help states better manage highway construction work zones to make them safer for roadway workers often doing their job in the midst of traffic. The updates would also provide states with comprehensive management strategies to ensure worker safety while minimizing traffic disruptions, officials said.

“With USDOT’s commitment to Vision Zero – a future where no one dies on our roads – it's critical that we keep people safe in work zones, including travelers and those constructing our roads,” Acting FHWA Administrator Kristin White said. “This work zone safety rule took years in the making to engage communities, partners and public and private sectors to ensure we prioritize work zone safety and reduce congestion to keep us all safe every day.”

The updated rules allow the FHWA to meet current and future work zone management needs while bringing the regulations into compliance with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Passed in 2021, the law provided funding for infrastructure expenditures that included repairing, replacing and maintaining the nation’s transportation networks. The new final rules require using positive protection devices, like temporary concrete barriers, to protect workers from motorized traffic operating at high speeds in and around roadway work sites. Additionally, the rules encourage the use of work zone programmatic reviews to ensure a comprehensive, holistic and data-driven look at roadway work zone safety.

The FHWA said it is the first update to the rules in 20 years and ensures the agency can fulfill its mission of ensuring “America has the safest and most modern transportation system in the world.” The rule also supports the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Roadway Safety Strategy to address highway crashes and fatalities.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, between 2013 and 2022, the average number of fatal worker injuries at road construction sites ranged from 94 to 143 per year. Highway construction worker deaths are between 1.7 and 2.8 percent of all worker fatalities. In 2022, the BLS said more than half of the highway worker fatalities at road construction sites were workers on foot being struck by a vehicle. More than half (52 percent) of the fatalities between 2020 and 2022 were workers on foot being struck by a vehicle.

BLS data showed that one 26 percent of the fatalities during that time were from workers in a vehicle as either the driver or the passenger, and the remaining 22 percent were attributed to other causes like falls/slips/trips, struck by objects or equipment, caught in/between objects or equipment, and electrocutions.

On Monday, New York State Police reported that a state Thruway worker was killed while working on I-90 in Chautauqua County, NY. Officials said Stephen Ebling, a maintenance employee for the New York State Thruway Authority, died when he was struck by a vehicle near Exit 59 in Hanover. Ebling was 58.

According to incident reports, Ebling was stopped on the left shoulder of the road with a Thruway Authority vehicle. While standing in front of the vehicle, a car driven by a 20-year-old Ohio man crossed the hazard markings, headed toward Ebling and his vehicle.

"To avoid the potential collision, Ebling ran into the passing lane of the I-90 and was struck by the (involved car) after it corrected back into the left lane," police said in a news release. 

In October, a 20-year-old Richland County Highway Department worker was killed when he was hit while he was working on a road maintenance crew.

Officials with the Ohio State Highway Patrol said Trenton Gallaway, of Lucas, Ohio, was outside of a highway department vehicle when he was hit by a vehicle trying to pass on the left. Police said Gallaway died at the scene.

And in September, the Missouri Department of Transportation asked drivers to be careful after a worker was killed at a worksite near Newland, Mo.

Officials said Jay Bone was killed while working on a two-lane road without a shoulder.

“A MoDOT crew was resurfacing, putting down some new asphalt,” Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) Sgt. Andy Bell said. “A semi-truck was being directed through the work zone when a MoDOT worker was struck and killed.”

The general manager of Streetwise, the company that sets up work zones for crews like MoDOT, reminded drivers to use caution during construction season.

“I’d like everybody to realize that these people have families and that they have people that care about them, and they’re out just trying to do their job, to make their dollar to pay their bills,” Tate said. “Pay attention to what’s going on, because there’s a method to the madness of all the cones and the signs. Everybody should just keep their heads up and pay attention so people can stay safe and make it home to their family.”

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