SLOW DOWN - IT'S CONSTRUCTION SEASON

wIth winter just about over, it's time to make way for Wisconsin's other season road construction. It's where highway workers go practically toe-to-toe with cars and trucks zipping past at 65 mph, or greater, while trying to patch potholes, resurface roads or repair guardrails on busy highways.

"You're within feet and sometimes inches of a mirror or the front end of a car," said Greg Schnell, Sheboygan County highway commissioner, of the dangers crew members face while out on road projects.

This is Work Zone Safety Awareness Week in Wisconsin, and Sheboygan County sheriff's deputies have begun increasing their presence in work zones looking for speeders who can make things dangerous both for construction crews and the drivers themselves. The enforcement will continue throughout the construction season.

"It's just something that we're going to try to work with the highway department when they have their projects with their asphalting and their blacktopping and resurfacing to try and get some extra squad attention out there," said Capt. Cory Roeseler of the Sheboygan County Sheriff's Department.

Base fines, or deposits, double in work zones, making the overall penalty for traffic violations in work zones higher.

For example, on a road with a speed limit of 55 mph or less, a regular speeding ticket for a violation of between 1 and 10 mph carries a $30 base fine and 3 points on a driver's license, for a total forfeiture of $161, including surcharges. The same ticket in a work zone carries a $60 base fine and 3 points, making the total forfeiture of $199.

Fines are bigger and more points are assessed for higher speed violations, and on roads with posted limits of 65 mph. "They're very easy to write," Roeseler said of the speeding violations. "Some guy coming through at 20 mph (over the limit) and guys are trying to work. There's no excuse."

On average in Wisconsin, there are more than 1,700 work zone crashes each year, with 12 fatalities, according to the state Department of Transportation.

In 2006 in Sheboygan County, the DOT said there were 44 work zone crashes, 11 of them involving injuries, but no fatalities. The state also has a Move Over Law, which requires motorists to move to an adjacent lane, if possible, or slow down when approaching a utility, maintenance, or emergency vehicle parked on the side of the road with its lights flashing.

Mark Leibham, patrol superintendent for the Sheboygan County Highway Department, said the law is helpful in making drivers aware of work crews on roads. "The guys just so much appreciate when people do appreciate what they're doing," Leibham said. "And if you could see yourself from the other side of the coin, I think people would be more cognizant of slowing down, too."

Schnell said the department follows federal traffic control guidelines in setting up work zones, to cut down on the chance of crashes. Signs need to be set at certain number of feet apart and not too far from the work zone. Trucks are placed in front of crews to protect workers from passing vehicles.

The county is responsible for maintenance on Interstate 43 and state highways, plus county highways and about 465 miles of township roads. Big projects scheduled for this year include county Highway V west of Highway I, and Superior Avenue from Taylor Drive to I-43. About 20 miles of asphalt paving is scheduled on county trunk highways.

In the City of Sheboygan, Dave Biebel, deputy public works director, said the department's safety officer briefs crews on following the federal work zone guidelines and staying safe while on the streets. "It's very dangerous for the workers as well as the drivers," Biebel said. "Drivers going into a construction zone and not familiar with it can get injured just as well as the workers. It's a concern for all of us."