A Washington DOT geotechnical crew drilling along Highway 3 Near Chico, Washington narrowly avoided disaster when a semi-truck crashed into their work zone on March 19, 2019. The crew heard the semi bearing down on them, crashing into the guardrail, and even though they were already on the opposite side of the guardrail, some of them dove away, rolling down the embankment to get away from the impending crash. An engineer on site had only just exited the cab of the three-quarter-ton pickup that was the first to be struck. The semi pushed the truck 150 feet into the drill rig, crushing it “like a soda can” to the point of barely being recognizable. There were no reported injuries to the WSDOT crew and the driver of the semi-truck was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
This week, April 8th – 12th, is National Work Zone Awareness Week in the US. What a poignant reminder of the hazards of doing geotechnical work near traffic and the importance of everyone who drives to be aware of workers in construction zones, to follow posted speeds, move over, pay attention, and avoid distracted driving always!
Source: Your turn: Highway 3 crash a reminder for work-zone safety
