By Steve Klamkin WPRO News

Saying highway workers are at high risk of injury or death, police and state and federal officials urged drivers to slow down in work zones.

“They have vehicles going by them at 60, 70 miles an hour within feet of their work, and it’s dangerous,” said Rhode Island Transportation Director Peter Alviti, at an event along busy Route 44 in East Providence to mark “National Work Zone Awareness Week”.

“We’re going into a new construction season,” Alviti said, asking motorists to “slow down” on highways or any time they pass men and women at work.

Carlos Machado, Rhode Island Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration said that in the last two years, there have been fewer cars on the highways, but they are traveling at higher speeds, posing a greater risk to construction workers.

“There’s now a law that says you need to pull over when you pass workers on the road and a work zone setup,” Alviti said.

“Just pay attention, be kind and courteous to these people who are out there working, and obey the law,” he said.