National Work Zone Awareness Week 2008
National Work Zone Awareness Week 2008
National Work Zone Awareness Week Kicks Off in Sacramento, California
The national kick-off event for National Work Zone Awareness Week was held on the west steps of the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. on April 8. This was the first time – since the creation of National Work Zone Awareness Week in December 1999 - that the national event was held outside of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Caltrans hosted the event that also included the 18th Annual Caltrans Workers Memorial ceremony.
The huge event was attended by hundreds of Caltrans employees, roadway workers from private companies and a large number of families of workers killed or injured in work zones. Members of the media were also in attendance.
Many featured guest speakers addressed the audience following the invocation and a bagpipe solo by Bill Tubbs, including Caltrans Director Will Kempton, Business Transportation and Housing Agency Secretary Dale Bonner, Assembly Transportation Committee Member Pedro Nava, Chair of the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee Alan Lowenthal, FHWA’s Safety Associate Administrator Jeff Lindley, the 2007 ATSSA Foundation Scholarship recipient Sharla Cruse and Patsy Broeske – who lost her husband Dan in a Northern California work zone accident in 2005. ATSSA President Henry Ross, President-Elect Joe Jeffrey, Foundation President Dane Alsabrook, California ATSSA Chapter President John Lester, Chapter President-Elect Dave Preston, ATSSA Executive Director Roger Wentz, and a large contingent of ATSSA members – including those from ATSSA’s California Chapter, were also in attendance. Additionally - members of the California ATSSA Chapter – led by “Doc” Holliday – set up the National Work Zone Memorial. For many years, the California Chapter has traditionally hosted the memorial for the Caltrans event.
Tamie McGowen of Caltrans, ATSSA’s most recent National Safety Award winner, worked for months to lead the coordination efforts of the event which was emotional, informative and educational. Near the conclusion of the event, the Caltrans Honor Guard performed a silent ceremony in which four cones were added to the display of 167 cones already in place for the event that honored and recognized Caltrans employees who lost their lives while serving the people of the State of California and Caltrans since 1924. The four latest cones added on April 8 symbolized the three Caltrans employees killed in 2007 as well as a fourth cone, that signified all workers killed in the United States in 2007. The three Caltrans employees who died in 2007 were Djuan Bush (District 4), John Knabenbauer (District 8), and Matthew White (District 3).
The audience also enjoyed an emotional solo of “Amazing Grace,” performed by soloist Deidre Wright, which concluded the event – in addition to the release of a large flock of white doves in memory of all work zone workers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty – making America’s roadways safer for all motorists.
The kick-off event for National Work Zone Awareness Week will occur in Maryland in April 2009.
Click here to view video of this event.
Click here to view KOVR news coverage of the Caltrans event.
National Work Zone Awareness Week 2008 Poster
Some agencies/organizations have inquired about accessing the original 2008 NWZAW poster artwork to modify the document for sizing purposes. You are now able to access that artwork at ftp://ftp.glassmcclure.com/. Note that the file is large - 140 MB. You must use Explorer or Firefox web browser and/or a FTP application to access the site.
The poster itself can NOT be altered in any way, as this poster was approved for distribution my the National Work Zone Awareness Week Executive Committee. Furthermore, the approved 2008 poster was funded and approved by the FHWA.
Click here to download .JPG
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 (800) 272-8772.
Previous NWZAW Events
Download 2007 NWZAW Poster and Orange Ribbons & Pins
Click here to download .PDF (12.5 mb)
Click here to download .JPG (67 kb)
