The director of the Michigan Department of Transportation has sent out a plea to truck drivers to take extra care in the state’s highway construction zones this summer.

Director Gloria Jeff sent the letter to Land Line and other publications late last week. In it, she noted that several fatal crashes involving trucks and other vehicles have occurred in work zones in the state.

Truckers who want to prepare for work zones ahead or route around them can check the department’s Web site, www.michigan.gov/mdot, for information on the construction areas, Jeff wrote in the letter.

Jeff noted two zones in particular she wanted to alert truckers to:

• Eastbound I-96 at U.S. 23 near Brighton. Mondays through Thursdays, one lane of traffic will be closed on eastbound I-96 from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. the following day. On weekends, double lane closures will occur between 9 a.m. on Friday until 5 a.m. on Monday.
• Bridge repairs on I-94 east of Michigan Route 52 and west of Ann Arbor. Traffic is down to one lane in each direction 24 hours a day between Dancer Road and Mill Creek.

Jeff recommended a number of common-sense measures truckers can take to ensure their own safety in the work zones, including traveling at the speed limit, not using cell phones and using safety belts.