The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reports that nearly 900 people are killed in work zone crashes each year, with commercial motor vehicles involved in more than one-third of those fatal crashes. Long stopping distances, large blind spots, and restricted maneuverability make construction zones especially challenging for professional drivers.

Start Preparing Before You Reach the Work Zone

The safest way through a construction zone often begins before the truck is even moving.

Checking your route before leaving can help identify long-term lane closures, major highway projects, or detours that may save both time and frustration. Even if avoiding the construction isn’t possible, knowing where delays are likely to occur gives you more time to prepare mentally instead of reacting at the last minute. FMCSA recommends researching routes ahead of time and using alternate routes whenever practical.

Slow Down Before Traffic Forces You To

Construction zones have a way of changing quickly. Traffic moving at highway speed can suddenly compress into a long line of stopped vehicles, especially around curves or hills where visibility is limited.

Reducing your speed before reaching the backup gives you more time to recognize brake lights, read temporary signs, and respond smoothly if traffic comes to a stop. Waiting until you’re surrounded by barrels and brake lights often leaves few good options for a fully loaded truck. FMCSA advises commercial drivers to obey reduced speed limits and slow down before entering active work zones.

Leave More Following Distance Than Normal

Passenger vehicles can usually stop much faster than a tractor-trailer, and many motorists underestimate how much room a loaded truck needs to come to a controlled stop.

Leaving extra space ahead of your truck creates valuable reaction time if traffic slows unexpectedly. It also reduces the likelihood of hard braking, which can increase the risk of cargo shifting or rear-end collisions. FMCSA identifies rear-end crashes as one of the most common types of work zone crashes and recommends increasing following distance throughout construction areas.

Look Far Beyond the Vehicle in Front of You

Construction zones reward drivers who scan ahead instead of focusing only on the next car.

Watching traffic several vehicles ahead makes it easier to spot slowing traffic, flaggers, lane closures, and equipment entering the roadway before they become immediate hazards. FMCSA encourages commercial drivers to continuously scan ahead for changing traffic conditions, especially in work zones where traffic patterns may shift with little warning.

Merge Early Instead of Waiting Until the Last Second

When signs indicate a lane closure ahead, moving into the open lane early usually creates a smoother transition than trying to merge at the taper.

Last-second lane changes increase the chances of encountering vehicles hidden in blind spots or drivers attempting the same maneuver. Planning your merge while traffic is still flowing gives everyone around you more time to react safely. FMCSA recommends moving into the open lane as soon as practical while remaining aware of surrounding traffic.

Stay Alert for More Than Just Traffic

The roadway isn’t the only thing changing inside a construction zone.

Workers may be operating only a few feet from live traffic, construction equipment can enter the roadway unexpectedly, and temporary barriers may limit available escape routes. Remaining focused until you’ve completely cleared the work zone helps reduce the temptation to relax too early, particularly on longer construction projects where conditions can change multiple times. OSHA and FMCSA both emphasize maintaining awareness of workers, equipment, and changing traffic patterns throughout active work zones.

Put Distractions Away Until You’re Through

A glance at a phone, dispatch message, or GPS might seem harmless on an open highway, but construction zones leave little time to recover from a moment of inattention.

Temporary lane markings, reduced lane widths and slowing traffic require constant attention. FMCSA specifically advises drivers to avoid distractions such as phones, eating, adjusting the radio or interacting with navigation systems while traveling through work zones.

Treat Every Work Zone Like It’s Active

Not every construction zone has workers visible along the shoulder, but that doesn’t mean conditions are normal.

Temporary pavement edges, uneven surfaces, narrowed shoulders and changing lane alignments can still affect how a truck handles. Approaching every work zone with the same level of caution helps eliminate assumptions that often lead to preventable crashes.

Construction projects are temporary, but the decisions made while driving through them can have lasting consequences. Slowing down, leaving extra space, and staying focused won’t eliminate every hazard, but they remain some of the most effective ways truck drivers can protect themselves, road crews, and everyone else sharing the highway.

The TDUSA editorial team creates practical, driver-focused content covering trucking news, industry updates, safety, regulations, and career information for professional truck drivers across the United States. Each article is built to reflect real-world experience, industry developments, and information drivers can use on and off the road.

Last Updated: August 24, 2026

The post Construction Zone Safety for Truck Drivers: 8 Ways to Stay Safe When the Lanes Get Tight appeared first on Truck Drivers USA.

The project is backed by a $24.3 million federal grant, along with $8.8 million from partner groups. Plans include seven underpasses, one overpass, and fencing running along both sides of the highway to help guide wildlife away from traffic and toward safe crossing points.

What’s Already Been Done

Crews made headway before winter set in. Around 20 miles of fence posts were installed, and dirt work was completed to set up detours around the future underpass locations. That early work is now setting the stage for a more active construction season.

What’s Changing This Spring and Summer

Starting in April, traffic will be pushed onto gravel detours around work zones. Those setups will stay in place as crews continue building the crossing structures.

Expect slower travel, uneven surfaces, and delays, especially during peak work periods. With multiple areas under construction, traffic patterns may shift as the project moves along.

WYDOT has already warned that delays should be expected.

Timeline Moving Forward

The work isn’t a quick fix. The overall project is scheduled for completion in October 2027.

“The contractor is working hard, fine-tuning the schedule and keeping things on track for the project,” Wyoming Department of Transportation Resident Engineer Jennifer Hoffman said. “If things go well, our goal is to have all eight structures constructed in 2026, weather and schedule permitting.”

As always in Wyoming, the weather could change that timeline.

Why These Projects Are Showing Up More Often

Wildlife crossings are becoming a more common sight, especially across Western corridors where animal movement overlaps with highway traffic.

While construction can slow things down in the short term, the goal is to cut down on wildlife-vehicle crashes. That can mean fewer disruptions, less damage, and safer conditions over time.

Colorado’s Recent Example

A similar effort wrapped up in Colorado in December 2025. The state completed what it describes as the world’s largest wildlife overpass over Interstate 25 near the Greenland Interchange.

The structure spans six lanes and reconnects 39,000 acres of habitat used by elk, mule deer, and pronghorn. Officials expect it to reduce wildlife-vehicle crashes along that section of I-25 by 90%.

Before it was built, the area averaged about one wildlife-related crash per day, according to state transportation officials.

The overpass was part of the larger I-25 South Gap project and, like the Wyoming effort, relied on federal funding and support from multiple agencies.

What Drivers Should Keep in Mind

If your route takes you through this part of Wyoming, plan for extra time and stay alert in work zones. Gravel detours and active construction aren’t going away anytime soon.

The end goal is safer roads, but for now, getting through the area will take a little more patience.

The post Wildlife Crossing Work Picks Up Along U.S. 189 in Wyoming appeared first on Truck Drivers USA.