CHARLESTON -- Secretary of Transportation Paul Mattox in conjunction with Federal Highway Administration West Virginia Administrator Tom Smith and the West Virginia State Police announced the beginning of the 2009 Work Zone Safety and Awareness season during a mdia event at the weigh station along I-64 westbound between the Teays Valley and Hurricane exits.

This year's theme is "Drive to Survive. Your future is riding on it!"

From now until November, the West Virginia Department of Highways (WVDOH) could have up to 300 road construction work zones, and each of the division's 10 districts may establish one or more short-term work zones per day. Considering the amount of work usually done within cities and counties, motorists can anticipate seeing thousands of work zones during the eight-month period.

The increase in construction is due to an influx of federal stimulus funding.

With this increase, drivers should be aware that there were 835 work zone fatalities across the nation, with two of those in West Virginia. Striving to ensure the safety of all WVDOH workers this year, drivers should pay extra attention to traffic movements and the locations of road workers.

This year, West Virginia State Police will strictly enforce the various work zone speed limits.