WSDOT urges drivers to use caution after 8 work zone crashes in one week

WASHINGTON — In an alarming trend, Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) crews dealt with eight crashes in just one week in work zones along highways in Everett, Bellevue, Renton, Kent, and Vancouver.

Four of those crashes happened on Monday, then another crash happened early Tuesday, injuring a driver, and three more happened in just an hour on Friday.

Thankfully, no workers were injured in any of those crashes.

“Those numbers do seem high, a collision in the work zone, especially involving injured injuries to our workers, or even one is too many,” WSDOT Spokesperson Aisha Dayal said.

RELATED: 3 WSDOT workers injured after car crashes into work zone on I-5 in Federal Way

WSDOT said the number of fatal crashes in work zones doubled last year compared to 2022, with ten fatal crashes, and officials say many of these crashes are preventable.

“In the top three factors of the collisions are following too closely excessive speed, and then inattention or distracted driving,” Dayal said. “Again, they’re all things that the public can avoid and that are preventable, including not driving impaired.”

King County leads the state by far in work zone crashes, with more than 450 crashes in work zones just last year, followed by Snohomish, Pierce, and Clark counties, respectively.

Just last week, WSDOT honored 61 of their workers killed while on the job, with far too many more experiencing close calls and escalating behavior from drivers.

“I had my hard hat knocked off once by a mirror, also had a gun pulled on me in a construction zone,” WSDOT Secretary of Transportation Roger Millar said during the memorial service.

RELATED: New Washington state law requires speed cameras in highway work zones

In January, a crew of six were seriously injured when a drunk driver barreled into them going nearly 70 mph in Vancouver, Washington. Last month three, other WSDOT workers were injured after a car crashed into a work zone along I-5 in Federal Way.

Many of the workers injured in the Vancouver crash are still traumatized from that night and dealing with lingering back pain from their injuries.

“The crash was so forceful, it sent her knees into the dashboard, and if she closes her eyes, she still feels the impact of the collision,” WSDOT SW Region Administrator Carley Francis said.

WSDOT says although road and lane closures due to construction may cause headaches for drivers, it’s worth it to keep crews safe.

“It’s an inconvenience to the public, but at the end of the shift, everybody goes home,” Millar said.