ALL COUNTIES | April 15, 2025

The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) is kicking off National Work Zone Awareness Week with a press event at the Little Rock Air Force Base at 11 a.m. Monday, April 21.

Work Zone Awareness Week is a national safety campaign observed each spring, traditionally at the start of construction season, to encourage safe driving through highway work zones across the country. This year, it will be the week of April 21-25. 

In response to the number of work zone-related traffic crashes across the nation increasing, the Arkansas Legislature has recently passed three major pieces of legislation designed to enhance the safety of roadway workers and motorists, reduce work zone related injuries, improve driver awareness, and reinforce safe driving behaviors. 

• ACT 117 – Requiring Driver’s Instruction Manual and the Driver’s License Examination to Include Information About the Safe Operation of a Motor Vehicle in a Highway Work Zone; and
• ACT 209 – To Authorize the Use of Green Lights by Roadway Construction or Maintenance Vehicles; To Amend the Special Restrictions on Lamp Colors; To Amend the Colors that May be Used by Emergency Vehicles; and
• ACT  327 – To Amend the Law Concerning Moving Traffic Violations in a Highway Work Zone; To Create Mobile Work Zones; and Assess a Fine for a Moving Traffic Violation in a Mobile Work Zone.

“This legislation is about improving safety for road workers and the traveling public,” said ARDOT Director Jared D. Wiley.  “When you encounter a work zone, please slow down, be alert, and obey traffic laws.  We owe this to the men and women working to improve our roads.  They deserve to be protected on the job.”   

Transportation and law enforcement officials applauded the legislation, emphasizing that work zone crashes are preventable through better driver behavior and stronger deterrents.

“We see far too many close calls and tragedies in work zones,” said Arkansas State Highway Commission Chairman, Philip Taldo. “These changes give us the tools to better protect everyone on the road.”

The National Work Zone Awareness Week campaign was founded by the American Traffic Safety Services Association, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and the Federal Highway Administration.

What: Arkansas’ 2025 National Work Zone Awareness Week

When: 11 a.m., Monday, April 21

Where: Little Rock Air Force Base Parking Lot, 1490 Vandenberg Blvd, Jacksonville, AR

Who: Open to the public