CHARLESTON, W.Va.— Chief Engineer of Development for the WVDOH Jason Foster says that the department is making the safety audit of Interstate 64 in the work zone a priority after two fiery tractor trailer crashes resulted in closing down the west and eastbound lanes on Thursday November 7.
Jason Foster
“We had a safety audit scheduled for this section of road, which were now prioritizing and making sure it gets done very quickly,” Foster said. “And our traffic engineering division has gone out videoed the work zone, accessed the work zone, done an audit of the work zone.”
Safety audits are performed when a work zone has multiple changes and lane shifts in order to make sure that the proper signage and safety measures are in place.
And while Foster said that the proper signage and safety measures were in place, the DOH is looking to see if they need to add more signs without overwhelming the person driving. He also said that the person who is driving needs to get down to speed in a work zone, which is normally 55.
“We have to be careful not to overload the driver with more information that you can process at any given amount of time,” Foster said. “So that also plays into the drivers need to pay attention to the speed limit, slow down, get to the posted speed within the work zone that way you have time to read, digest the signs, and make your appropriate decisions on where you need to be in the travel lanes.”
Already, the department has added additional lighting on the crash attenuator, which is designed to slow down vehicles and absorb some of the impact in a crash.
He also said that safety and communication remain the departments number one priority, and he encourages people to keep an eye on WV 511 because it keeps track of crashes and road conditions and is updated minute-by-minute.
“I would encourage motorists to check WV 511 if they’re going to be traveling an area where they haven’t been in a while or the last time, they were it was a work zone, make sure that what is on the ground, if there’s any re-routes or delays it should be noted there,” Foster said. “There’s also access to traffic cameras if you just want to see what’s going on in a specific location.”
The WVDOH said they will keep the public updated with information.