More highway workers are being killed or injured in work zones across California, according to Caltrans.
At the active construction site off Highway 101 at Avila Beach Drive, Caltrans worker RJ Gonzalez looks at photos of his family that he keeps with him every time he puts his helmet on to go to work.
“I look at them and I say you know what, what’s important to me today? I need to do everything as safe as possible to go home and see them,” Gonzalez said.
He says every day can be a gamble.
“All my career I've been right next to the highway. I would consider it the most dangerous job because you're dealing with moving traffic. From a 5,000-pound vehicle to an 80,000-pound truck traveling 60 plus miles an hour,” Gonzalez said.
In 2022, 101 people died and 323 were seriously injured in California work zones, according to Caltrans. This includes highway workers and other people involved in work zone crashes or incidents.
Gonzales has worked in construction for more than 25 years and says that each year, the number of injuries he sees gets worse.
“Because we have more projects, there's more opportunity for something to go wrong,” Gonzalez said.
Caltrans Project Management Chief Joe Erwin says there are more projects taking place in San Luis Obispo County than ever before.
“We’re at a peak with the number and size of the projects,” Erwin said.
Every day, construction workers like Gonzalez risk their lives and that's why Caltrans is bringing attention to the Move Over Law.
“If you see someone working on the side of the highway and they have their lights on, slow down and when it's safe to do so, move over. That creates buffer space through the work zone,” Gonzalez said.
He says he sees distracted drivers pass by their work sites every day.
“We’re just asking people to drive a little more cautious through the work zones because even though you need to get to where you need to be, we have to do what we need to do to make ourselves safe and the only way we can do that is try to get you to slow down, pay attention and be less distracted,” Gonzalez said.
Caltrans says fines are also doubled in some highway construction or maintenance zones when workers are present.
