The death of a roadwork flagman struck and killed Wednesday has renewed attention on how far Ontario law goes to protect highway workers.

The St. Thomas man, 55, was directing traffic around a mobile boom crane working on the Burwell Rd. overpass bridge when he was hit by a pickup truck going west on the Hwy. 3 bypass.

Police and Ontario’s Labour Ministry were investigating, but hadn’t released the man’s identity or cause of the collision.

“There are a lot of distraught construction workers here,” said an OPP officer at the scene.

The worker was employed by FACCA Inc. Construction.

Police said the boom lift was obstructing the westbound lane of the bypass.

The pickup driver, a 46-year-old Aylmer man, and a male passenger, 32, weren’t hurt.

Ontario cracked down more than a decade ago on road safety in construction zones, doubling fines for speeding drivers.

But critics, including Elizabeth Webley — widow of Dick Van Rooyen, a highway worker killed on the 401 near Chatham by a 21-year-old dozing at the wheel — wanted photo radar cameras allowed in construction zones as an added safety measure.

At the time, the push for extra security was also backed by the Ontario Road Builders’ Association, which reported 86 deaths between 1997 and 2004 from almost 19,000 collisions at highway and road maintenance sites.

Between 2004 and 2011, 52 road workers were killed.

Wednesday, a spokesperson for the road builders said the group is looking to improve worker safety.

“Speed is a contributing factor in a lot of accidents, but also distractions — not paying attention to signage as well,” said the association’s Ashley De Souza.

Former Liberal MPP and cabinet minister David Caplan in 2010 proposed bringing back photo radar cameras in designated safety areas such as school and road construction zones, but his private member’s bill didn’t become law. Bill 136 is still available for any MPP to reintroduce.

With files by Megan Stacey and Dan Brown, The London Free Press