[quote style=”2″]ODOT Worker Killed in Echo Among Those Honored[/quote]
The National Work Zone Memorial wall will be on display at the Union County Fair this year near the Oregon Department of Transportation fair booth, Aug. 3–7.
Unveiled in April 2002, “The National Work Zone Memorial – Respect and Remembrance: Reflections of Life on the Road” program is a living tribute to the memory of lives lost in work zones. The Memorial travels to communities cross-country, year-round to raise public awareness of the need to respect and stay safe in America’s roadway work zones.
ODOT’s Region 5 Traffic Safety Coordinator Billie-Jo Deal coordinated efforts to bring the memorial to Union County.
“Summer construction season is a busy and dangerous time for city, county and state maintenance crews, as well as contractors working along the highways,” Deal said. “Motorists traveling through work zones are also at risk and in fact more likely than construction crews to be injured in a work zone crash.”
Having the National Work Zone Memorial on display provides an opportunity for fair patrons to learn more about work zone safety and the need to be extra cautious when traveling through highway construction projects.
The 20-foot-wide by seven-foot-tall memorial wall lists approximately 1,400 names of people who died in work zones, including motorists, contractors, maintenance crews and other people working on highway projects. The name of ODOT maintenance employee Don Kendall was added to the memorial last year. Kendall died in July 2014 while working on a chip seal project near Echo.
As America strains to keep up with the demands on its roadways, the men and women who shoulder that workload find themselves performing their duties in what can be a very dangerous workplace. Although several states have created memorials to acknowledge their sacrifice, the National Work Zone Memorial stands as the only monument to the loss of roadway workers, drivers, and public safety personnel in all states.
ODOT encourages local residents and other fair visitors to stop by the ODOT booth to view the memorial.
