In the wake of two recent road worker deaths in Michigan, Jeff talks with two people with expertise and personal experience in work zone issues:
- Lindsey Renner, supervisor of MDOT’s work zone safety section; and
- Craig Innis, an MDOT construction engineer injured while working on a project near Flint in 2016.
The fallen road workers include MDOT maintenance worker Kevin White, 48, who was clearing large debris from the shoulder of I-94 in Berrien County Oct. 23 when a passing truck lost tires and one of them struck him. The other, Barry Hause, 54, was an employee of Charlotte-based C&D Hughes. He died from injuries sustained when a car drove into a work zone late at night on Sept. 23 and struck him while he was repairing concrete on I-96 near Portland.
Both men left behind daughters in college and a host of other loved ones.
Lindsey talks about efforts in Michigan and across the nation to raise awareness of the risk involved in working in, and driving through, road work zones.
MDOT mourns lost road workers, reminds everyone about work zone safety
https://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,4616,7-151-9620_11057-510931--,00.html
The Zipper Merge (13:25)
In his 2008 book “Traffic,” author Tom Vanderbilt extolled the virtues of late merging. The public has been slow to adapt but studies and data support his premise. Known as the zipper merge, it is among innovations to enhance safety and improve the flow of traffic in work zones. The concept has shown success in other states and been piloted in west Michigan. Minnesota DOT officials have been trying to educate the public about the benefits for years and some believe "Minnesota nice" makes it difficult to adapt.
Tom Vanderbilt: Why I Became a Late Merger (and Why You Should Too)
http://tomvanderbilt.com/books/traffic/excerpt/
Don't be a roadblock: MDOT explains 'zipper merge'
http://tomvanderbilt.com/books/traffic/excerpt/
Nice Minnesotans Don't Get the Cruelly Efficient Zipper Merge
https://www.wired.com/2016/06/nice-minnesotans-dont-get-cruelly-efficient-zipper-merge/
One Step From Death (18:42)
MDOT construction engineer Craig Innis comes on the podcast to share the dramatic story of how he narrowly escaped serious injury when a vehicle crashed where he was working along I-69 in Flint in 2016.
Craig's story
https://www.michigan.gov/workzonesafety/0,9411,7-390-93570---,00.html