WILLIAMSTOWN, W.Va. (WTAP) - The West Virginia Department of Transportation commemorated fallen highway workers who have passed in their line of work at the I-77 Visitor Center in Williamstown this afternoon.

It was a solemn sight at the West Virginia Fallen Workers Memorial in Williamstown Thursday as highway workers and family members gathered to remember 58 highway workers that have perished while working for the Division of Highways.

“You know, these folks are people who are members of community, they’re family members, they’re brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, and then when they don’t go home, there’s a big impact to a community, a family.”

According to State Highway Engineer Jacob Bumgarner, this ceremony took place during National Work Zone Safety Week, which promotes safe driving around work zones to preserve highway workers’ safety.

Bumgarner iterates the importance of driving carefully in work zones and carefully considering the impact of not doing so.

“...when [highway workers] don’t go home, that there’s a big impact to a community, a family, and so, we just want everyone to be very careful, don’t be distracted and drive through the work zone safely and remember that these folks didn’t get that opportunity to go home.”

Symbols strewn throughout the event like the 58 representations of the 58 lives lost made of traffic cones, helmets, and vests and the fallen workers memorial itself served as a reminder of those who lost their lives.

During the commemoration lives like wood county native Randy Bland, who was killed on US-50 in 2015, and the person whom the memorial statue is modeled after, along with James Harper, a 24-year-old W.Va. Turnpike worker who was hit and killed on the job April 14 of this year were brought to light as a reminder of those who never made it home.

Bumgarner stresses the importance of patience, minding the speed limits, and being focused on the road to ensure there are no more names added to the list of those who have lost their lives, especially during the upcoming summer construction season.

“Bad things can happen fast. Every driver in every work zone needs to think about the consequences of what those bad things could be...Please don’t be distracted as you’re driving through those work zones each and every day.”

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