The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) marked its somber Remembrance Day yesterday, April 22, by etching two more names into the marble memorial at their headquarters, as the state reflected on the sacrifices made by highway workers. In a ceremony tinged with both respect and regret, CDOT laborers Trenton C. Umberger and Nathan “Nate” Jones, who tragically lost their lives last September, were commemorated, bringing the total count of fallen employees since 1929 to 64. CDOT officials, joined by the Colorado State Patrol, Federal Highway Administration, and Colorado Contractors Association, vowed to intensify efforts for road safety.
In memory of those like Umberger and Jones, who perished when struck by a vehicle while working near Grand Junction, CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew emphasized the urgency of reinforcing safeguards for those maintaining our roads, "As we unveil the etchings on CDOT’s memorial stone, wishing that we did not have to add any more names, let alone two, we must redouble our commitment to remembering our two coworkers and working together to do everything we can to make the roads safer for the hard working highway maintainers who, each day, take risks to keep the roads safe for the traveling public," she said, as per CDOT, in an announcement to the public.
Concurrent with National Work Zone Awareness Week and its pressing theme, "Respect the Zone, so we can all get home," CDOT's remembrance underscored the dangers inherent to work zones. Notably, the 2024 data indicated a 10% decrease in work zone crashes and an 8% decline in related fatalities from the previous year, while noting a slight uptick in certain types of crashes, including those involving speeding and commercial vehicles, according to CDOT.
The Colorado State Patrol's chief, Col. Matthew C. Packard, captured the collective responsibility of drivers with his remark, "We can do better, Colorado. For Nathan Jones and Trent Umberger and for every person whose office is on or near a roadway, it is our responsibility to respect and care about the risks they face to support our daily travel," he said, as obtained by CDOT, emphasizing the human cost of carelessness in construction areas and with a troubling majority of work zone fatalities involving the public rather than workers, the call for vigilance remains as acute as ever.
With annual roadway projects by CDOT numbering up to 200, the stakes are high for maintenance crews. Shawn Smith, CDOT Director of Maintenance and Operations, affirmed the relentless commitment to safety measures, "Our Maintenance crews work every day to keep Colorado safely moving. It is dangerous but vital work. On Remembrance Day we honor those who didn't make it home so others could," he expressed to the assembly, as noted by CDOT, reminded drivers of heightened fines in work zones, significant for enforcing the critically needed attentiveness for safe passage through these vulnerable stretches of our shared infrastructure.
