Nighttime road crews recall multiple work zone crashes

April Leigh

When the sun goes down and the evening commute wraps up, Joy Draper and his overnight maintenance crew get to work. Most nights you can find them fixing guardrail or cleaning drains on state highways in Pierce and Thurston counties.

The nighttime maintenance crew in Lakewood working on southbound I-5 in Tacoma

There are 15 people on Joy's crew. They are parents, children, grandparents, friends, neighbors and community members. Each one takes pride in their work and knows how important it is to keep our roads in good working order for all travelers. They deserve to go home to their families at the end of their shift. This team is like a family, and they look out for one another, especially in work zones.

But they worry, and for good reason.

We're seeing more speeding and erratic driving behavior in work zones– which puts everyone at risk.

The number of fatal crashes in work zones doubled in 2023 when compared to 2022. This is even more alarming because the overall number of work zone crashes decreased even while fatal crashes increased. This trend is deeply concerning.

Joy and his crew know this. They've experienced work zone crashes and worry the next one could be fatal.

A car and one of our vehicles after a driver crashed through a work zone on southbound I-5

Four years ago, Richard Burnham, a 60-year-old maintenance veteran on the crew, was in an early warning truck, which signals to drivers that there is work ahead. That's when his vehicle was hit at 60 mph by a driver who fell asleep at the wheel on southbound I-5 in Lacey. Burnham said the collision caused him shoulder, neck and back pain that had him in physical therapy and doctor's appointments for months. Physically, it took him a full year to recover from the collision. He also suffered post traumatic stress from the crash – and tensed up every time a vehicle got close to him.

In 2023, he was hit two more times in a work zone while inside a truck. Another crew member, Robert Rauch, was also hit twice the same year. In both collisions Rauch was inside a vehicle while parked in a work zone.

The vehicle and the truck Robert Rauch was in after a driver crashed through a work zone
on westbound State Route 512 in 2023

Four months into 2024, and this team already experienced another work zone crash. One crew member is still out recovering from the collision and unable to work.

Joy and his crew do what they can to protect each other and others while at work. They follow safety protocols. When they set up work zones, they use two early warning trucks with safety cushions and flashing lights. They place safety barrels along the roadway for hundreds of yards before they work. They also have a third truck with safety cushions near crew members working on the road, as a final line of defense.

The crew repairing guardrail on southbound US 101 in Olympia

While we are shifting some highway maintenance work to daytime hours for safety concerns and improved lighting, you will still see crews doing work at night. Traffic volumes are lower at night, but there still are risks to this type of work. It's harder to see work crews in the dark, for example, even with bright orange flashing beacons alerting drivers that a work zone is ahead. Our partners at the Washington State Patrol also report more speeding and drunk driving at night too – which also puts our night crews like Joy's at risk.

No matter when we do the work, we need everyone to slow down and pay attention to work zones. Joy and his team's lives depends on it. They frequently report seeing drivers on their phones, watching a show or just distracted traveling through work zones.

It's not just road crews at risk in work zones: Nationally, nearly 95% of people injured in work zone crashes are drivers, their passengers or nearby pedestrians. It is in everyone's interest to pay attention and drive safely in work zones.

The nighttime crew on State Route 512 in Puyallup. Three safety trucks can be seen
in the background of the work zone.

We need everyone's help to address this safety crisis. When approaching a work zone, we ask drivers to:

• Slow Down – drive the posted speeds, they're there for your safety
• Be Kind – our workers are helping to keep you safe and improve the roadways
• Pay Attention – both to workers directing you and surrounding traffic
• Stay Calm – expect delays, leave early or take an alternate route if possible; no meeting or appointment is worth risking someone's life

Joy's team will continue to work diligently to maintain our highways in Pierce and Thurston counties – but they need your help. Please slow down in work zones, look out for our crews and never drive distracted.