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"This event is particularly close to my heart because it emphasizes the safety of skilled construction workers who risk their lives every day to make transportation safe for the rest of us."
Gloria Shepherd
Federal Highway Administration Executive Director
The Missouri Department of Transportation, in cooperation with the American Traffic Safety Services Association and the Federal Highway Administration, hosted the National Work Zone Awareness Week kickoff news conference at the LCpl. Leon Deraps I-70 Missouri River Bridge Project at Rocheport on April 18.
The event was created to bring awareness to work zone hazards and remind drivers of the important role they play in work zone safety, with this year’s theme centered on “Work With Us”. In attendance as speakers were Gloria Shepherd, the executive director of the Federal Highway Administration, Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission Chairman Terry Ecker and MoDOT Director Patrick Mckenna, among others. There were also personal testimonials from MoDOT Central District employee Eric Bybee and Nicole and Kelby Herbel, who helped create Lyndon’s Law in honor of their father and grandfather Lyndon Ebker. That law authorized the Department of Revenue to revoke the license of anyone who strikes a highway worker in a work zone. Also in attendance was the winner of MoDOT’s Work Zone Safety Billboard Contest.
There were also speeches from key safety partners like Len Toenjes, president of the Missouri Associated General Contractors, as well as Lt. Eric Brown of the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Each shared unique perspectives from key partners in work zone safety.
The event was livestreamed nationwide on MoDOT's YouTube channel and Facebook page and was shared by national highway officials as well as news outlets in attendance. Click here to watch the event in its entirety.
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