(PHOTOS) Milwaukee’s Hoan Bridge lit up safety barrel orange for work zone awareness

Milwaukee’s Daniel Hoan Memorial Bridge on Tuesday evening was lit up bright orange to remind drivers to slow down during the busy road construction season.

There were more than 2,000 work zone crashes in 2025, resulting in 622 injuries. Work zone crashes last year resulted in seven deaths – all of which were motorists, said Jason Roselle, the southeast freeway construction chief of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, at a press conference. Over the past five years, the state has seen nearly 50 fatalities due to work zone crashes.

WisDOT will conduct 400 road projects in 2026, including the Interstate 94 East-West project in Milwaukee County, I-41 expansion in northeast Wisconsin and work on the I-39/90/94 bridges over the Wisconsin River in Columbia County.

Lighting the Hoan Bridge up in orange was a creative way to drive the message home for drivers to stay aware on the state highways, said Steve Baas, executive director of the Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association. Baas is also a board member at Light the Hoan, a nonprofit organization that lights the bridge up to raise awareness on different issues.

“In a work zone, we have safety features such as drums and barricades that keep the traveling public safe from entering that work zone,” said Chad Shihata, senior project manager at Waukesha-based Zenith Tech Inc., at the conference. “But those only work if that traveling public is following those correctly. So, we’re asking everyone to slow down, stay safe and stay where you’re supposed to be in those lanes and outside of our work zones.”

The goal for everyone is to make it home, construction crews and motorists alike, Shihata added.

Last week, a Zenith crew member was struck and injured by a vehicle that drove into a work zone, Shihata said. The crew member is stable, but the incident highlighted the danger when a driver ignores signs and barricades around construction areas, he added.

“It can be scary when you get a report of a crew member I’ve worked with for my entire career getting struck,” Shihata said.

WisDOT is encouraging drivers to follow posted speed limits, avoid distractions and put the phone down when traveling through a work zone. State law prohibits texting while driving and talking on a hand-held phone in work zones.