SCDOT hosts Work Zone Awareness Press Conference to kick off Work Zone Awareness Week

Columbia, S.C. (April 21, 2025) - The South Carolina Department of Transportation, along with the South Carolina Department of Public Safety and Carolinas AGC, held a press conference today to kick off Work Zone Awareness Week.

Taking place from April 21 to April 25, the Federal Highway Administration's National Work Zone Awareness Week is a time to bring awareness to work zone safety and the dangers highway workers face daily.

Secretary of Transportation Justin Powell said, "At SCDOT, the safety of our employees and contractors, especially those on road crews, is our number one priority. Only with the help of our law enforcement partners and drivers, can we ensure that our crews go home safe at the end of the day. I'm asking you to commit to helping us ensure the safety of our crews and the traveling public."

Deputy Director of the Department of Public Safety Michael Oliver said, "We are immensely proud of the longstanding partnership between the SC Department of Public Safety and the SC Department of Transportation, especially because when it comes to keeping our highways safe, our agencies are two sides of the same coin. As we work together to educate the public during this Work Zone Awareness Week, we are also excited to announce the implementation of new speed trailers that will help put the brakes on speeding through work zones, enhancing the safety of those working on the roads, as well as those traveling through the area."

Carolinas AGC is a construction trade association made up of contractors and construction-related firms that perform work in North Carolina and South Carolina.

COO, SC Government Relations & Divisions Director of Carolinas AGC Leslie Clark said, "Carolinas AGC and our members are constantly looking for any and all safety measures to protect our workers. We are glad to see SCDOT take this step and look forward to partnering with them to put these blue light trailers to good use."

SCDOT and SCDPS have several ways that help keep work zones safe. Those include, law enforcement personnel, signs, flashing lights, cones and barrels. In addition to those, SCDPS will soon begin using speed trailers that discourage speeding in work zones. 

The units have remote-access capabilities, which means SCDOT and SCDPS can quickly relay important safety information during a hurricane or weather event; warnings about collisions and road closures ahead; and issue AMBER alerts and other critical information.

The new trailers will also collect information about vehicle counts, vehicle speeds, and the sizes of vehicles on the road. However, these devices do not have camera technology to capture images or license plates, and they cannot be used to issue tickets for speeding.

SCDPS expects to have 25 of these speed trailers up and running in road construction zones across the state by July 1, 2025.

Click here to read more about Work Zone Awareness Week and what you can do to help keep our road crews, and yourself, safe.