SACRAMENTO – Caltrans’ “Be Work Zone Alert” campaign has received national recognition as a winner of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s Roadway Work Zone Safety Awareness Award. Caltrans’ campaign, which features the children of Caltrans employees, will serve as a national example of an innovative way an organization is bringing awareness to highway work zone safety.

“We’ve been very proud of this statewide awareness campaign which has allowed Caltrans to engage the public in a meaningful way and connect them to the very real human tragedy that happens when a highway worker in injured or killed,” said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty.

The Roadway Work Zone Safety Awareness Awards Program is a competition designed by the ARTBA Transportation Development Foundation to honor outstanding efforts to reduce roadway work zone construction accidents, injuries and fatalities. Caltrans received the Best Outreach Campaign/State Level honor, which recognizes efforts to promote work zone safety through employee and public education campaigns and training programs, at ARTBA’s 2015 National Convention in Philadelphia, PA.

Caltrans’ “Be Work Zone Alert” campaign features the children of Caltrans Maintenance workers who personally deliver the messages, “Be Alert, Our Mom/Dad’s at Work” and “Move Over: Amber Lights Protect My Mom/Dad” (in English and Spanish) on billboards, radio, TV public service announcements (which included the parents), digital ads, a new website and social media. The campaign is a reminder that highway workers are relied upon to do more than just fix the roadways; they are counted on to come home each day. For more information on the campaign, go to beworkzonealert.com.

Established in 1902 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., ARTBA is the oldest and most respected national transportation construction-related association whose primary goal is to aggressively grow and protect transportation infrastructure investments to meet the public and business demand for safe and efficient travel. It represents 6,000 private and public sector members who plan, design, build and maintain the nation’s roadways, waterways, bridges, ports, airports, rail and transit systems. It supports an array of initiatives, including educational scholarships, awards, executive education seminars, roadway work zone safety and training programs, special economic reports and a national exhibition on transportation.