MassDOT, State Police, and AAA Remind Motorists to Slow Down in Work Zones

01:15PM / Saturday, April 19, 2025Print Story | Email Story

BOSTON — Ahead of National Work Zone Awareness Week and as construction season gets underway, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), Massachusetts State Police, and AAA are reminding motorists to exercise caution when passing through active construction and maintenance projects.

This includes following traffic laws, reducing speed as indicated by signage and as necessary to prevent a crash, and remaining alert when passing through active construction and maintenance projects.

National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) is an annual event that brings attention to work zone safety and education around preventing crashes and fatalities in these areas. MassDOT promotes work zone safety throughout the year, to help protect the men and women who work on the roads.

"Here in Massachusetts and across the country, construction workers risk their lives every day to build and maintain the roads we all rely on," said Transportation Secretary and CEO Monica Tibbits-Nutt. "We owe it to them—and their families—to do our part. When driving through a work zone, slow down, stay alert, and be aware of your surroundings. Protecting workers from injury or tragedy isn't just a seasonal responsibility—it's something we all must commit to, every time we get behind the wheel."

Contractors involved in road projects in the United States report frequent crashes in work zones. Sixty-four percent of highway contractors report that motor vehicles had crashed into their construction work zones during the past year, putting motorists and workers at risk, according to the results of a highway work zone study released in May of 2024 and conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America and HCSS.

Meanwhile, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA's) Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST), 4,319 people were killed in work zone crashes in the United States between 2018 and 2022. The number of work zone fatalities has grown from 757 fatalities in 2018 to 891 in 2022, an 18 percent increase.

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Neal Tours Berkshire Innovation Center as Pittsfield's Tech Economy Grows

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:38PM / Thursday, October 15, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. —Congressman Richard Neal visited the Berkshire Innovation Center Thursday to highlight $735,000 in federal funding secured for a new cybersecurity training and testing facility.

"The number one job of the federal government is to provide for the security of its people. I mean, we should never lose sight of that, whether it's China or Russia, every single day there are these belligerents that are attempting to infiltrate national security here in the United States, and we should not be naive about it," Neal said. "I mean, we can have an argument about proportionality; we can do a lot of different things, but not to miss the point of what they're trying to do every day."

The new cybersecurity facility will provide regional manufacturers and businesses with research and design equipment, specialized lab space, and training facilities and is planned to be housed in a to-be-redeveloped space across the street from the Berkshire Innovation Center (BIC), located at 45 Woodlawn Ave.

The derelict property, formerly owned by General Electric, is now known as the William Stanley Business Park.

The project is a $7.2 million dollar investment from the state, $5.2 million from the tech collaborative, $2 million from bond funding secured by Neal, and $1 million that will be split into two phases: $500,000 for BIC to begin building and $500,000 for Myrias Optics to start production in Pittsfield, said Mayor Peter Marchetti.

BIC Executive Director Ben Sosne said manufacturers often highlight the need for help with cybersecurity, particularly in meeting the security requirements necessary to conduct business with General Dynamics and other major contractors.

Collaborators in the field and the public sector have recognized the need that has only grown since technology has advanced and is a great career opportunity, Sosne said.

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