Be particularly careful driving through work zones this summer. What looks like a highway maintenance worker might be a state trooper on the lookout for work zone violations as part of Operation Hardhat.
Operation Hardhat is a state enforcement campaign targeting motorists who drive recklessly through work zones.
Some troopers will patrol active highway work zones throughout the summer along the Adirondack Northway, the Thruway and other highways where construction or maintenance is taking place. Others will be dressed as highway maintenance workers.
They will be on the lookout for drivers who disobey flagging personnel, speed in the work zone or violate the state's Move Over Law.
“We have zero tolerance for those who drive recklessly and endanger the lives of others,” said Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Bryan Viggiani, public information officer for the Department of Transportation, said the goal is for drivers to treat work zones as they treat police vehicles — slow down; drive carefully.
“Folks do have a tendency to slow down when they see a police vehicle,” he said. The DOT wants work vehicles to be seen in the same terms.
“Our folks are out there sometimes with nothing more than a shovel or a tamper,” Viggiani continued. “It’s a dangerous job, and we need motorists to respect that.”
In 2019, a maintenance worker was killed when a tractor-trailer driver crashed into his truck as it was parked on the shoulder of Route 17.
There were a total of 214 work zone intrusions statewide in 2019, 67 among DOT forces and 147 among contractors.
Ten DOT workers suffered injuries.
The operation started last week, and in two days of enforcement on the Northway in Warren and Saratoga counties, troopers issued 85 tickets. Sixty-four were for speeding, two for cellphone use, one for unsafe lane change, one for failure to obey traffic control and 17 for other violations.
Other efforts in Broome and Cortland counties saw troopers write 67 tickets.
During last year’s Operation Hardhat, state police wrote 1,048 tickets statewide.
Q: I live in Clifton Park and frequently cross the Northway on Sitterly Road, as do many other bicyclists and pedestrians. The relatively heavy traffic results from shopping centers on both sides of the bridge and the limited number of available crossing points. The bridge has an adequate lane for riding, but the railing on the side of the bridge is quite low when compared to a cyclist. This puts the rider's center of mass higher than the rail and causes riders to venture into the traffic lane rather than risk a fall onto the Northway lanes below. On all of the similar Northway bridges in Clifton Park there are additional barriers added, usually chain link fence, for pedestrian and cyclist safety. Would it be possible to add such a fence on the Sitterly Road bridge now that the road is being modernized? It would be a great safety improvement.
—Tom Metzger, Clifton Park
A: Pedestrian-style fencing is in the DOT’s plans, according to Viggiani.
It will be installed on the railing when the driving surface of the Sitterly Road bridge is rehabilitated, which he said is anticipated within the next two years.
I-787: The southbound I-787 Exit 6 off-ramp to Route 32 (Broadway) in Menands will be closed July 24-27 as the DOT performs resurfacing and pavement work. To detour, the DOT suggests taking Exit 7W to Route 378 west to reach Route 32.
Have a question about transportation in the Capital Region? Email gettingthere@timesunion.com and include your name, town and phone number or tweet @abigail_rubel.
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July 20, 2020 at 09:07AM
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Getting There: Watch out for work zones - Times Union
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