LUZERNE COUNTY -- Since the start of construction season, state police say they have dealt with several deadly crashes in construction zones on the turnpike and many other close calls.
Now they're cracking down on dangerous driving in those areas, with 'Operation Orange Squeeze'.
"Just recently we had two traffic fatalities that occurred in the work zones. A lot of it was speed related," said Corporal Bruce Bailey
So to combat that, state police started up 'Operation Orange Squeeze' throughout the state.
Newswatch 16 caught up with them in Luzerne county.
Once the operation started, it was just a matter of seconds before they started pulling over one driver after the next. Mostly for speeding in the construction zone. Ken Address was one of them.
"They said we were going a little too fast. I didn't realize I was going that fast. I respect the cops and whatever they say," said Ken Address. "Our main goal is safety. We want to save lives. We are trying to keep our public safe, our people safe, and the maintenance workers that are out there working in the construction zones safe," added Corporal Bailey.
State police and crews who work along the highway everyday, say close calls are far too common.
"We've had a couple of times where truck have hit our shovels or our rakes, when we were doing black top working," said Brian Smigielski, a turnpike maintenance worker.
Brian Smigielski says he hope this extra law enforcement will help driver understand there's far more at stake than the ticket they could get.
"In the mornings, a lot of times, when construction workers wake up they don't get to see their wives or kids before they leave. We get to see them when we get home, and that's very important to us, to be able to get to see them at the end of the day," said Smigielski
State police will continue 'Operation Orange Squeeze' throughout the construction season.
