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Road workers remembered

West Virginia Department of Transportation honor members

By Kristen Hainkel 2 min read

WILLIAMSTOWN – West Virginia Department of Transportation officials honored their workers who were killed on the job during a ceremony in Williamstown Wednesday.

Randy Damron, events coordinator for the West Virginia Division of Transportation, welcomed attendees at the West Virginia Welcome Center off Interstate 77.

He started his remarks by mentioning the 58 orange vests wrapped around a traffic cone and topped with a white hard hat placed around the West Virginia Division of Highways Fallen Worker Memorial. Each one represents a worker's life lost on the job.

He said the cones were placed in honor of statewide Go Orange Day, which promotes driving safety in work zones. He said a motorist's actions behind the wheel could have permanent consequences.

"Work zones are temporary, but actions behind the wheel can be permanent," he said.

Chief Engineer of Special Projects Jacob Bumgarner knew one who was killed on the job. His coworker and friend Randy Bland was struck on U.S. 50 patching potholes.

Damron said drivers paying attention to work zone signs and signals would prevent work zone crashes.

"When you enter a work zone you have signs, you have flashing lights, and sometimes you have blue lights. If people would just pay attention to that. We could stop all work zone crashes," he said.

Pastor Kyle Neal of Fairlawn Baptist Church said obeying work zone signs is a way to demonstrate Jesus Christ's love.

"One way we can care for and love our neighbor well is respecting the limits that our government authorities have placed before us. We should recognize that people's lives are at stake when we disobey the law," he said.

Damron said all 55 counties in West Virginia have work zones, so motorists are likely to encounter them.

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