Write Up:

Providing safe and efficient travel in work zones is essential to protecting the public, and MoDOT crews remain committed to managing work zone operations as safely as possible.

In the second quarter of 2026, there were eight on-system work zone fatal crashes, resulting in eight fatalities. Five of these incidents involved vulnerable road users (VRUs). During this same period, there were zero work zone fatal crashes on the local system. Below is a summary of the second quarter crashes:

Vulnerable Roadway Users:
•    Two pedestrian crashes occurred when individuals attempted to cross interstate mainlines. There did not appear to be any construction activity that would have prompted them to cross at those locations, and the reason they chose those routes is unknown.
•    Two pedestrian crashes involved roadway workers. In one incident, a worker appears to have darted into the roadway to retrieve a dropped item and was struck. In the other, a flagger who had stopped traffic was hit by an inattentive driver.
•    One crash involved a pedal cyclist operating without reflectors or lights on a dark roadway. The cyclist was struck when a vehicle changed lanes due to an upcoming lane drop.

Vehicular: 
•    Two crashes were rear-end collisions where work zone congestion was noted as a contributing factor. One involved a semi striking a vehicle, resulting in multiple secondary impacts. The other involved a vehicle rear-ending a semi.
•    One additional rear-end crash occurred where the work zone does not appear to have been a significant contributing factor.

Purpose of Measure:

This measure tracks the number of traffic-related and non-traffic-related fatalities, injuries and overall crashes occurring in work zones on state-owned and off-system roadways.

Measurement and Data Collection:

Missouri law enforcement agencies submit a vehicle accident report form to the Missouri State Highway Patrol to be entered into a statewide traffic crash database. The database automatically updates MoDOT’s crash database system, which is part of the Transportation Management System (TMS). MoDOT staff query and analyze this data to identify work zone-related crash statistics. Missouri State Highway Patrol prioritizes entry of the crash reports by fatality, serious injury and property damage only.

The target for this measure is updated quarterly. This target is established by projecting a 10% improvement over a 5-year average.