Go Orange Program Returns, Continuing Focus on Work Zone Safety

It’s the color that reminds Turnpikers in the offices of the essential work Maintenance crews, contractors, engineers, and others are doing on the highway as traffic whizzes by. It’s a color honoring those workers we’ve lost, and it’s a vow to drive safely every time we get behind the wheel so that we do not lose another.

It’s the Go Orange campaign, and it is back for another summer. Go Orange started this year with Chief Operating Officer Craig Shuey, District Operations Manager Don Harris and PennDOT Maintenance Manager Brian Glass holding a wreath laying ceremony and moment of silence. You can see the video here:

Go Orange remembrance 2024 (vbrick.com)

Go Orange is in its seventh year. Its origins go back to when two Turnpike workers lost their lives on the highway in the span of two years, and Shuey and Turnpike CEO Mark Compton wanted to reach customers in a new way to get them to slow down and pay attention.

“We wanted to communicate to our customers that this is a shared experience – we keep you safe, and you keep us safe,” said Chief Strategy and Communications Officer Kelli Roberts, who started Go Orange – and it caught on quickly.

Within the Turnpike, in the early days of Go Orange, Roberts and her team had to remind Turnpikers to wear orange on Wednesdays. Now, people do it on their own all year long, not just between Memorial Day to Labor Day – it’s something Roberts is happy to see.

“It’s become part of our culture,” Roberts said. “We recognize the environment our colleagues and friends work in.”

Director of Traffic Engineering and Operations Tom Macchione is one of the many who can be spotted in orange.

He added, “Wearing orange every Wednesday is a simple way to promote work zone safety and a good reminder to be part of the change that you want to see.” 

And for Turnpike travelers, Go Orange creates a connection with highway workers through a marketing campaign, which has some new graphics already appearing on social media. 

You can see them on the revamped Go Orange website. That’s where you can also sign the Go Orange pledge. This year’s goal is to hit 5,000 signatures, so be sure to invite your friends and family to sign. On this page, you can also see the names of the Turnpike’s 45 lost workers and click on their names for a few details about them.

And the program is working. In the last five years, the Turnpike has been able to reduce work zone crash rates by more 30%, and the Go Orange program is one of the many tools that have been used to do so, taking on the task of educating the public about the need to slow down in work zones, Macchione said.

Turnpikers in the offices and travelers on the highway have taken to the program over the last seven years, and it’s something Maintenance crews appreciate, too.

“Not only do we remember the lives that are lost, but we also need to remember that we need to go home to our families every day,” New Cumberland Maintenance Equipment Operator Jordan McAllister said. “We need to be safe. People need to be paying attention.”

Whenever Director of Maintenance John DelRicci sees a Go Orange post on social media, he always likes it and shares it and encourages all Turnpikers to do the same to help spread the word.

“We’re communicating with our customers that we’re out here working, and we’re noticing their driving patterns are very fast,” DelRicci said. “We’re asking them to be conscious of when they’re going through work zones.”

He said Go Orange is working great and word is getting out there, but he’s also happy to see Maintenance workers like McAllister taking to it, too, dressing in orange and getting involved with the fun of the campaign while recognizing the important message about highway safety.

“That’s our office; that’s where we work,” DelRicci said. “Go Orange is making everyone aware that we’re working out there and they need to slow down.”

By Steve Marroni, PA Turnpike Communications Specialist