Chris Schulz Published

‘Go Orange’ For Road Worker Safety 

A group stands behind several orange reflective traffic cones. Most in the group are wearing orange clothing or high-visibility vests with their hands up in the air. They stand in front of a brown brick building with "WV Division of Highways District Nine Headquarters" lettered on it.
The staff of West Virginia Division of Highways District Nine who cover Fayette, Greenbrier, Monroe, Nicholas and Summers counties show off their orange for Go Orange Day April 22, 2026
Courtesy of the West Virginia Department of Transportation
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The state’s transportation workers are highlighting — literally — the importance of driver awareness around road work zones.  

Members of the public were encouraged to wear their brightest orange attire to shine a light on the importance of work zone safety as part of National Go Orange Day Wednesday.    

The color coordination is part of National Work Zone Awareness week, which stresses paying attention in work zones.  

There were 800 crashes in West Virginia highway work zones in 2025, leading to 301 injuries and five deaths.   

The 2025 crash data shows that 81% of work zone crashes happened in dry weather and 78% happened during the day, leading the West Virginia Department of Transportation to conclude that most incidents occur when drivers feel the most comfortable.  

WVDOT urges drivers to slow down and pay attention in work zones, so they, their family members, contract road workers, and WVDOT road crews can go home safely at the end of the day. 

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