Rafael Lopez has been with the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) for 44 years and says his work in road construction is "still scary."

"We're trying to get the public to pay attention to how they're traveling," Lopez said. "They're usually straightening out their kids or eating a sandwich, or worse, they're on their cell phones."

The maintenance supervisor said even with the best window of work for three hours at night, usually from midnight to 3 a.m., traffic gets hectic all hours of the day.

This week, in an effort to protect its workers as well as the public, NDOT is urging motorists on Nevada roads to heed warning signs and take precautions when driving through work zones.

During National Work Zone Awareness Week, sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration, NDOT and Washoe County's Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) are partnering to promote safety measures that drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists should take when traveling to their destination.

NDOT director Susan Martinovich said construction workers are in a dangerous occupation and asked the public to be mindful of their proximity to workers while driving near projects. She said NDOT makes every attempt to accommodate traffic during the day.

"Our workers work hard to minimize the impact on work hours," Martinovich said. "They work at night - they reduce (daytime) hours."

April is considered the beginning of the construction season as the winter weather often leaves potholes in the road and streets need slurry sealing - making it an optimal time for the FHA to raise awareness on this issue.

But even with the precautions, accidents and fatalities still occur. According to the FHA, work zone deaths increased nationally from 989 in 2001 to 1,074 in 2005.

In Nevada, there were 18 fatalities in 2006. The last Nevada NDOT employee death happened in 1995 when Frank Fuentes was killed by a drunk driver in Las Vegas.

Another employee was seriously injured in March while removing a construction cone on Interstate 215 in Las Vegas.

NDOT employs numerous measures to protect the public and the workers, including displaying signs, placing protective barriers, closing lanes and using flaggers to mark off construction zones. The agency also lowers speed limits and denotes detours.

NDOT spokesperson Scott Magruder said the slogan, "Give 'em a brake" is crucial to protect the construction workers as they risk their lives every day to get their job done.

But the necessary work also perpetuates the congestion.

"It's ironic," said Howard Riedl, a senior engineer with RTC. "In order to get the job done, it takes creating more congestion (with lane closures)."

Readle said people should plan their trips ahead of time and figure in extra time for slow periods of traffic.

"(Drivers) need to give themselves more reaction time. 'Give 'em a brake' means slow down," Magruder said. "These guys are not going to save a lot of time speeding through a work zone."

NDOT offers tips to help drivers be safe in work zones:

• Always buckle up.

• Pay attention to speed limits and traffic lanes.

• Minimize distractions, especially cell phone use.

• Make lane changes only when necessary and use turn signals.

• Don't tailgate.

• Remain calm.

Nevada law doubles the penalty to $1,000 for speeding in any marked road construction zone when workers are present.

Some current road construction projects for the month of April include:

•Intersection improvement work at North Los Altos Parkway and Vista Boulevard to widen Vista to four lanes, adding dual left turn lanes on Los Altos and widening and extending two northbound lanes from Vista del Rancho back to Los Altos. Construction, which began Monday, is expected to last six weeks and costs $1 million.

• Interstate 580 freeway from Mt. Rose Highway to Washoe Valley, a $393 million project to build a six-lane freeway and eight bridges. The project began in January and is expected to be completed in 2011.

• Overlay work on the U.S. 50 from Zephyr Cove to U.S. 395, two projects that cost $16.2 million and is expected to be completed in November.

An upcoming major project will be open grade asphalt surface placement estimated at $5 million to begin in June and be completed in August.

These tips and other current road information are available on a new Web site, www.nevadadot.com/safety. Information on RTC regional road projects can be found by visiting www.rtcwashoe.com and clicking on "Streets and Highways." Drivers can also call 511 within Nevada.