Clare Welcome Center Features Work Zone Crash Memorial for Holiday Weekend

An MDOT display featured at the National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) event in April 2022. (MDOT Photography Unit)

The Clare Welcome Center will have a special memorial on display during the July 4th holiday weekend, in remembrance of those lost in work zone crashes. The memorial features 1,602 names of road workers, drivers, pedestrians, law enforcement and other first responders, as well as children. It’s updated each year.

The Michigan Department of Transportation has made work zone safety a top priority, both for workers and for drivers who travel through active work zones. Preliminary numbers indicate 19 fatalities in work zones during 2021, including both road workers and drivers. There were more than 5,000 total crashes.

The memorial remembers lives lost in work zones and encourages drivers and policymakers to recognize the importance of safe driving practices.