Work is still suspended on Interstate 405 in Kirkland at the scene of a fatal construction crash that left one worker dead and another injured as state and local leaders debate how to keep those work zones safe. Troopers say a drunk driver struck and killed 30-year-old construction worker Kollin Neilsen. Neilsen was helping the 405 widening project near Totem Lake.

The Department of Transportation, Washington State Patrol, and contractors are now reviewing the incident to see if any changes should be made to workplace safety.

In response to a report published Tuesday in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that said agencies were considering placing troopers at freeway construction sites, officials with DOT and WSP downplayed any suggestions that state troopers could staff freeway projects.

"We use the state patrol in our work zones when it is appropriate in certain circumstance," said Brian Neilsen, 405 project manager. "To use them in every lane closure all over the region every night, I don't believe that would be feasible."

Washington DOT officials say it also may not be economically feasible to staff work sites with troopers. Changes could be announced this fall.

There weren't troopers at the accident site last Friday and the state patrol has generally only protected job sites when a road is closed, a signal is changed, or heavy equipment is a distraction. The 405 site near Totem Lake was marked and only involved the closure of one lane.

There were safety precautions taken last Friday. The DOT had installed a truck-mounted, impact-absorbing barrier, but the alleged drunk driver crashed right through it.

The last construction worker death on a state highway was in 2002.

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