State Patrol and Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office will team up for traffic enforcement in US 41 work zones

March 27, 2012

The Wisconsin State Patrol and the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office will team up for intensified traffic safety enforcement in US 41 work zones beginning Thursday, March 29, and will deploy similar details throughout the construction season. A State Patrol aircraft will be used to monitor traffic in the 55 mile per hour zone.

Motorists are reminded that fines for traffic violations in work zones are double the usual amount when workers are present. Posted work zone speed limits are still in force even when workers are not present.

"Drivers traveling on US 41 must slow down, be patient, and pay strict attention to rapidly changing road and traffic conditions when they encounter work zones in Winnebago and other counties," says State Patrol Sergeant Tim McGrath. "Rear end collisions are the most common type of work zone crash. Although construction workers are always at a great risk of being hit, about three out of four people killed in work zone crashes are motorists."

On average during the last five years, there were nearly 700 work zone crashes annually in Wisconsin that killed 10 people and injured nearly 800, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

For more information, contact:
State Patrol Sergeant Tim McGrath, WisDOT
(920) 929-3700, timothy.mcgrath@dot.wi.gov

Lieutenant William Anthes, Winnebago Sheriff’s Office
(920) 236-7341, wanthes@co.winnebago.wi.us