National Work Zone Awareness Week 2009
April 6-10, 2009
National Media Event to take place at location still to-be-determined somewhere in the Metro D.C. area.
A Brief Summary of National Work Zone Awareness Week
National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) was created on Dec. 15, 1999 when senior representatives from the FHWA, ATSSA and AASHTO jointly signed a Memorandum of Agreement that pledged to increase public awareness of work zone safety issues through a national media campaign. Since then, these three founding organizations have led a national media event every April in every year since, with the assistance and support several key organizations in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Together, this group is the “NWZAW Executive Committee.”
The NWZAW Executive Committee consists of the FHWA, ATSSA, AASHTO, ARTBA, AGC, Va.-DOT, Md.-DOT and D.C.-DOT. Additionally, since the creation of the event in 1999, nearly every state DOT and countless other associations and organizations support and participate in the program every April.
The April media event rotated for the first eight years between Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia. Following the eighth year, the Executive Committee determined to make the national event a true national event by kicking off the week in a pre-selected state. California stepped to the plate – and the 2008 national media event was held on the Capitol Steps in Sacramento. The 2009 event will return to the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the campaign.
The event has drawn national media coverage every year and has featured speakers and participants including U.S.-DOT Secretary Mary Peters, Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), former Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, and many others. A year-by-year history compilation of the event is located below.
The Executive Committee traditionally has a November planning meeting in Washington, D.C. to begin planning for the April event. During this meeting, possible “themes” for the campaign and the venue for the event are discussed.
In 2009, National Work Zone Awareness Week will be observed April 6-10, with the media event scheduled for Tues., April 7 at a location – still to be determined – in the Metro D.C. area.
Organizations designing work zone promotional pieces throughout the year will be interested in knowing the PMS values for the other colors used in the MUTCD are as follows: Brown - PMS 469, Red - PMS 1805C, Yellow - PMS 122C, Green - PMS 342, Blue - PMS 294, Coral - PMS 232.
For more information on National Work Zone Awareness Week, please contact James Baron, Director of Communications at (540) 368-1701, ext. 113.
Previous NWZAW Events
