ST. LOUIS – Spring is here and soon construction and maintenance work zones will be popping up like daffodils across the region.
Employees from MoDOT, St. Louis County, Missouri Highway Patrol, construction industry partners and their families will run, walk and jog in the fifth Work Zone Awareness 5K Run/Walk in Chesterfield on Saturday, April 14. They want motorists to remember that construction season is underway and to watch out for workers in those highway construction and maintenance work zones.
Two years ago, MoDOT maintenance worker Lyndon Ebker, was killed in a work zone. Ebker was a 30-year employee and was part of bridge flushing operation when he was struck by a vehicle in Franklin County.
Workers like Mark Fresen, also know what it’s like to be the victim of a work zone crash. Fresen was a MoDOT maintenance worker in 2009, when he was struck in a work zone on Interstate 70 in St. Louis County. He suffered disabling injuries. Fresen attends the run/walk each year.
His presence and that of other fallen workers’ families is a testament to what can happen when motorists are distracted in work zones. Since 1946, 27 St. Louis area MoDOT workers have lost their lives while performing their work on area roadways.
Industry partners, along with MoDOT and St. Louis County volunteers, organized the event to bring attention to increasing number of workers who will be on the roadways, this spring. April is considered the start of construction season across most of the country. The race will mark the end of National Work Zone Awareness Week, April 9 – 13.
“April is the time when you start to see a dramatic increase in the number of construction and maintenance crews out on the roadways and we do our best to mark our work zones and be visible. This is the fifth year we’ve included the run as part of our efforts to educate the public about work zone safety, and we need motorists to help us. The recent loss of Lyndon and other fallen workers over the years is the starkest reminder of what’s at stake. This is about saving lives and if we all work together, everyone can go home safely,” said Tom Blair, MoDOT’s district engineer in St. Louis.
Register at: www.athlinks.com/event/work-zone-5k-2018-132863
Races begin at 8 a.m. at the MoDOT Transportation Management Center, 14301 South Outer Forty Road in Chesterfield. All participants will receive a race T-shirt, medal and a drawstring bag. T-shirt sizes are guaranteed for participants who register by March 30. Awards will be presented to male and female overall winners, and age category winners. The cost is $15.
The race is sponsored by private industry partners: Civil Design, Inc., EFK Moen, CMT (Crawford, Murphy & Tilly, Inc.), Collins & Hermann, HDR Inc., N.B. West Contracting Co., Bussen Quarries, Inc., Gershenson Construction Co., Inc., TSi Geotechnical, Inc., Pace Construction Co., Concrete Strategies Inc., HR Green Inc., St. Louis-Kansas City Carpenters Regional Council, Kienstra Ready Mix Concrete, TWM (Thouvenot, Wade & Moerchen, Inc.), Breckenridge Material Co., GBA (George Butler Associates), Millstone Weber, Inc., CBB, Fred Weber Inc. and Alberici Corporation.
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