PITTSBURGH,None — The orange barrel rollout has begun in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's road construction season started on Monday.
VIDEO: PennDOT Road Construction Season Under Way
With all of the projects slated for the spring and summer, PennDOT also began Work Zone Safety Awareness Week.
Officials said their top priority is to cut down on work zone wrecks and deaths.
"Unfortunately each year there are many, many accidents," said Dan Cessna of PennDOT.
Channel 11 obtained last year's unofficial accident numbers and, according to PennDOT leaders, the numbers are the highest in three years.
There were nearly 1,900 work zone crashes across the state. In District 11, which includes Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence counties, there were 300 wrecks. Police said of the 300 wrecks, there were five fatal accidents.
PennDOT said drivers should stay the speed limit, avoid tailgating and pay attention to the bright orange signs on the side of the road.
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