It’s true. There are two seasons in upstate New York – winter and construction season. Snow and ice season is finally (we hope) behind us and flowers and orange construction cones are beginning to decorate the spring landscape.

As the Thruway Authority kicks off another construction season, I want to remind all drivers that the people you see working alongside high-speed traffic in work zones are our friends and family, our neighbors, members of our communities, all wanting to go home safe at the end of their shift. They rely on you to help them.

This week marks National Work Zone Awareness Week, a weeklong campaign dedicated to spreading awareness for work zone safety. The theme this year is, “Work Zones are temporary. Actions behind the wheel can last forever.”

In 2023, there were nearly 200 crashes in Thruway work zones, leading to 37 injuries. The majority of crashes were caused by either distracted driving, following too closely, unsafe lane change or disregarding traffic warning signs. In short, these injuries and crashes could have been prevented.

There will be no shortage of work zones this season. The Authority’s 2024 Budget invests a total of $451 million to support its Capital Program, which is expected to invest $2.4 billion into capital projects over the next five years — a $500 million increase following the recently enacted toll adjustment. Everything from bridge replacements and rehabilitations to pavement reconstruction and culvert replacements.

In Western New York, projects include more than $67 million in structural steel repairs on the North and South Grand Island Bridges, the replacement of Ransom Road Bridge, and repaving more than 200 lane miles in various locations across the Buffalo Maintenance Division.

The Thruway system is supported primarily by toll dollars and does not receive any dedicated federal, state, or local tax dollars to cover the costs of operating and maintaining the Thruway.

We will continue to reinvest toll dollars wisely into the 70-year-old Thruway system, meaning more work zones. Work zones are not there to make you late or to be a nuisance, they are in place to make the road safer and create a more modern roadway. Please help us help you and slow down and be alert in work zones. These simple steps will help save lives.

Frank G. Hoare, Esq. is the Thruway Authority Acting Executive Director.