New York Construction Report staff writer
As the annual construction season gets under way, NYC DOT is calling on drivers to slow down and protect the safety of road crews. Officials marked National Work Zone Awareness Week – April 15 to 19 – at a NYC DOT resurfacing operation in a residential section of Bushwick, Brooklyn.
A new pilot project was introduced for citywide concrete crews to set up ADA compliant walls when constructing pedestrian ramps, providing extra protection for the work crews and, combined with barrels, making the area passable for pedestrians with disabilities.
“Just as our crews work hard to make our roads and bridges safe, we ask all New Yorkers to help keep our crews safe by exercising caution when driving through work zones,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “Treat our workers as if they are members of your own family by slowing down, driving carefully, and being courteous.”
NYC DOT reported 12 work zone intrusions last year, six of which resulted in an injury. Overall, 51 NYC DOT workers have been injured in work zone incidents since 2009 and five have died from work zone-related events during the past 21 years. This year alone, NYC DOT has experienced three work zone intrusions, including two on Richmond Hill Road on Staten Island just in the last week.
“Every single day of the year DEP crews are working in roadways across our city to maintain the roughly 15,000 miles of water mains and sewers that are the lifeblood of the Big Apple,” said DEP Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala. “Our crews work to serve the public and we hope all roadway users will operate with care and patience around work zones.”
Crews have repaired 61,374 potholes in 2024. On average, pothole requests from 311 are repaired in under two days.
Resurfacing work along Evergreen Avenue, which includes a bike lane, is part of over 1,150 lane miles NYC DOT resurfaces each year. NYC DOT last resurfaced this corridor in 2015, and for this project the agency coordinated with DEP and ConEd to conduct repairs to their respective infrastructure while the road was milled.
Throughout the year, NYC DOT offers comprehensive work zone training provided by the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) and E-PRO Safety Solutions, ongoing safety assessments of job sites, and improvements to fleet equipment such as back-up cameras and retro-reflective markings.
For information about work zone safety, Vision Zero and other efforts, visit nyc.gov/dot or nyc.gov/visionzero.
