Latest news with #NorfolkPublicWorks
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Have you seen the traffic monsters? Norfolk project promotes work-zone safety
A trio of brightly colored monsters popped up around Norfolk this week, looming over road construction sites baring their teeth, drawing surprised looks from motorists. Burghy, Seymour and Binker were built by Norfolk's Department of Public Works more than a decade ago as part of National Work Zone Awareness Week. The campaign, which began in 1999, is aimed at highlighting safety concerns around construction zones and encourages motorists to 'respect the zone so we all get home.' Each of the monsters is built out of traffic barrels and other traffic management equipment. Binker has a bulkier frame, shaggy green hair and a furrowed brow. Seymour sports two large eyes – that are almost too big for his head – and a gaping round mouth, and Burghy has a long red mohawk with beady eyes and a deep V on his chest. City officials aren't sure where the names came from. Norfolk is the only Hampton Roads city that participates in building the traffic barrel monsters. 'When the weather warms up, road work ramps up in the City of Norfolk and everywhere. Road work means work zones and crews, so awareness is important,' Alana Smith, management analyst for Norfolk Public Works, said in an email. 'Slow down, put the phone down, avoid distractions whenever you see orange cones or barrels – for everyone's safety.' Smith said Norfolk's traffic workers take pride in their monsters. 'The Streets and Bridges teams enjoy the reaction when people start to notice the monsters and take great care to make sure they're properly stored and maintained so they can keep coming back for Work Zone Awareness Week,' she said. Public Works rotates their locations each year, focusing on high-traffic areas but avoiding putting them at active work zones so the monsters don't become distractions themselves, according to Smith. The number of total deaths in work zone-related wrecks decreased by 8%, from 880 to 821, from 2021 to 2022, the first decline in such deaths since 2018, according to the Federal Highway Administration. Of the more than 800 people who were killed in work zone crashes in the United States in 2022, 85% were motorists or their passengers, according to the Work Zone Safety Clearinghouse. Since 2019, fatal highway worker injuries at road construction sites have decreased from 135 to 94 in 2022, according to the Federal Highway Administration. Gavin Stone, 757-712-4806,
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Barrel ‘monsters' serve as warning to Norfolk drivers
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — As the weather continues to warm up in Hampton Roads, construction on local roadways ramp up. Keeping worker safety in mind, you might be seeing barrel 'monsters' coming out of hiding. On St. Paul's Boulevard in downtown Norfolk, road closure signs are popping up, and barrels have been placed to redirect traffic. At times traffic can get a bit hectic. Bob Delehaya, program supervisor with Norfolk Public Works, sees it all the time and says road signs should be a warning to drivers. 'They are advance warnings for the motorists and let them know, 'Hey, we've got people working,'' Delehaya said. 'So we want it to be safe for the workers.' It's not only about keeping workers safe, but the drivers too — communicating that message by tapping into your inner fears. 'They're monsters, right? They're the creatures that live under your bed, and everybody's afraid of the monsters on the bed,' he said. But this monster, 'Burghy,' does not come from under the bed. It's a monster made from barrels and comes out of hiding to remind drivers to be safe in construction zones. It's all part of National Work Zone Awareness Week. Delehaya says it's a time to be careful. 'It means to slow down, respect the work zone for the workers, respect the work zone for motorists and the pedestrians as well,' Delehaya said. Burghy will be joined with other barrel monsters Binker and Seymour in front of other work zones highlighting the safety to workers and to also minimalize distractions to drivers. Distractions like texting and driving. 'If you miss these signs because you're texting or you're on your phone, you could be injuring somebody,' Delehaya said. 'You're just within a split second away from a major incident, God forbid it's a really serious injury or fatality.' The barrel monsters are put in a place to keep everybody safe, including the construction workers respecting the work zone so we all get home. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
