Highway work zone deaths jump 75% in a year in one US state

A Colorado highway in foreground with the Rocky Mountains in background. (Image: Adobe Stock)

No definite, tangible answer has yet to emerge, but members of the US Congress have written a letter to the federal government addressing the issue while shifting some blame on CDOT.

Referring to an unnamed contractor who met with “members of Congress” and “members from Colorado’s General Assembly”, the letter stated the contractor “shared CDOT’s safety plan and documents illustrating that CDOT withheld traffic flow plans from contractors, started new construction zones without the signature signoff of the onsite design professional engineers and improperly used safety equipment.”

Source data from CDOT shows that (with a little more than one month remaining in the year) there have been 28 recorded deaths on Colorado roadways in 2024. That’s 12 more (or 75% higher) than 2023. In 2022, ten fatalities were reported in roadworks construction zones.

Despite the increase in fatalities, CDOT’s data shows crashes are down overall by 34%.

CDOT said the rise in deaths coincided with a period of record construction. Colorado, too, ranks among the fastest growing states by population in the country.

‘It’s got to stop’: US contractors demand action to make highway workers safer Michael Alford knows the dangers that speeding and distracted drivers can pose to highways workers only too well