Illinois goes orange for Work Zone Awareness Week April 11-15; Bayview Bridge to be orange at night

QUINCY — Bridges and buildings throughout the state are once again turning orange for National Work Zone Awareness Week, April 11-15, to honor those who have died in work zones as another road construction season gets underway in Illinois. Quincy’s Bayview Bridge will be one of several in the state that will be illuminated with orange lighting at night.

“The color orange has come to symbolize that we all can play a role in making work zones safer and driving down the number of fatalities to zero,” Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman said in a press release. “The effort to ‘Go Orange’ each year is gaining momentum. We deeply appreciate the contributions of our partners to help save lives.”

In 2020, the most recent year statistics are available, 857 people were killed and 44,000 injured in work zone crashes nationally. Illinois averages almost 6,100 crashes in work zones each year, resulting in 1,600 injuries and 28 deaths. More than nine out of 10 deaths are someone other than a worker, including drivers, passengers, pedestrians and bicyclists. 

Visit IDOT’s Work Zone page for more information.