(Kansas City, Mo.) – Every day KC Water has dozens of men and women making important improvements and repairs to Kansas City’s infrastructure. Much of that work happens underground and along busy roads. To help keep them safe crews set up traffic cones, signs and barricades. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work.
“I’ve seen people run through cones. I’ve seen people not slow down and run through cones,” said KC Water Equipment Operator Danny Hicks.
National Work Zone Awareness week is April 9th – 13th. This year’s theme is “Work Zone Safety is Everybody’s Responsibility.” Nationally, 765 persons died in work-zone traffic fatalities in 2016. 80 percent of those fatalities were to passengers and drivers. Often behind those cones and signs are deep holes and open excavation sites.
At the end of the day, KC Water wants all employees to go home safely. Workers ask that drivers help make that happen.
“I’d like for drivers to know that we set up cones and signs for them,” Hicks said. “We wish they would pay attention more to our work zones so we’ll be safer and we won’t get hurt.”
For more information, please contact Brooke Givens, Media Relations Coordinator, at brooke.givens@kcmo.org or 816.513.0284.
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KC Water maintains and operates water treatment and distribution systems, stormwater management systems, and wastewater collection and treatment systems for residential and business customers in Kansas City and for wholesale customers in the Kansas City area. KC Water is primarily funded by fees charged to customers based on their use or impacts on the three utility systems.
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