CDOT Honoring Fallen Employees on Remembrance Day

WHO: Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Regional Transportation Director Karen Rowe; Colorado Department of Transportation Executive Director, Mike Lewis; Colorado State Patrol Captain Brian Lyons; Transportation Commissioner Bill Thiebaut; Federal Highway Administration, Division Administrator, John Cater; Family members of the fallen employees; CDOT Maintenance, Engineering and Support Personnel.

WHAT: CDOT is holding its annual Remembrance Day ceremony to honor the employees who have lost their lives in the line of duty in southeastern Colorado, Region 2.  The ceremony is being held in conjunction with National Work Zone Awareness Week, April 8-14 and the statewide Remembrance Day, being held at CDOT headquarters on April 12. The event will feature the reading of the nine names on the CDOT Region 2 Memorial Monument of those who have lost their lives in the line of duty for CDOT.

WHEN: Wednesday, April 11, at 1 p.m.

WHERE: NEW LOCATION CDOT Region 2 Headquarters, 5615 Will Blvd. in the courtyard located in the rear of the building.

WHY: In 1995, the first CDOT Remembrance Day was observed following a Colorado Transportation Commission meeting in Denver. Twenty-three years later there are now 60 names displayed on the Memorial Monument at CDOT Headquarters in Denver, representing the employees who have lost their live in the line of duty. The most recent death was on Feb 11, 2018, when Nolan Olson, a member of the Pagosa Springs maintenance patrol (Section 7, Region 5) died after succumbing to injuries sustained after being struck by a passing vehicle while working on a southwest Colorado highway. Each region of the state holds their own Remembrance Day event to recognize not only the lives lost, but the importance of ensuring our roadways are safe. The southeast portion of the state, Region 2, unfortunately has had 9 CDOT employees lose their life while doing their job.

In 2017, there were 15 work zone fatalities in Colorado, more than doubling 2016 fatalities. Nationally, more than 750 persons are killed and another 37,000 persons are injured in work zone crashes each year. Additionally:

• In 2017, 143 workers were killed in road construction zones

• 4 out of 5 work zone fatalities are motorists

• One work zone fatality occurs nationwide every 15 hours

• Nationwide, one work zone injury occurs every 14 minutes

Please help prevent work zone injuries and fatalities. Slow down and pay attention to the road.