Local

‘We want our workers protected’: Bill allowing speed cameras in work zones advances in Olympia

OLYMPIA, Wash. — There’s a new push to bring automated speed cameras to Washington highways.

Bills making their way through the legislature would allow cameras in work zones.

Last year on Interstate 5 in Tacoma, two workers were seriously hurt when they were hit by a speeding car.

That incident led state legislators to consider allowing work zone speed cameras, like are now in school zones.

A law enforcement officer could issue a ticket after viewing the images.

“We mean business, and we want our workers protected,” said State Rep. Jake Fey, the Democrat who chairs the House Transportation Committee, at a hearing on Monday.

Mark Ottele, a veteran of highway construction, testified to both the Senate and the House.

“It makes me absolutely sick to my stomach not knowing if I’m going to come home every day to my family,” Ottele told senators last month. “I’ve seen semi-trucks plow into our crews. I’ve seen bodies scraped off the ground.”

Two versions of the bill call for cameras to be implemented starting in 2024.

The House bill had a hearing on Monday. The Senate version is already out of committee and could pass any day with bipartisan support.