Kansas City mourns loss of Lloyd Crawford

On Monday, June 21, a motorist struck and killed Lloyd Crawford, a longtime Missouri Department of Transportation worker, in the line of duty.  The incident occurred on southbound Route 273 at the intersection of Route 371 in Platte County.

Crawford, 61, was performing flooding emergency work on southbound Route 273 at the intersection of Route 371 in Tracy when the incident occurred. Missouri State Highway Patrol reports that Crawford was struck by a vehicle while performing this work. 

Crawford had nearly 18 years of service at MoDOT. He worked as the Platte City Maintenance Supervisor at the time of the incident. He began working for MoDOT in December of 2003 as a seasonal maintenance worker and, after working various other maintenance positions, was promoted to maintenance supervisor in December 2019.

Crawford is the 23rd MoDOT employee in the Kansas City District lost in the line of duty since 1932. Statewide, 135 people have lost their lives.  

“Our sympathy and prayers go out to Lloyd’s family,” said MoDOT Kansas City District Engineer Chris Redline. “Lloyd was a friend to many and will be missed by us all. He was a valuable employee and had a long history with MoDOT. Our hearts are heavy.” 

Maintenance crews take advantage of highway closure

Multiple crews took advantage of the I-435 closure from Parvin Rd to the I-35/I-435 interchange to complete some routine maintenance within this corridor last Saturday, June 26. This work would be too difficult to do if the road was open to traffic. The closure was for the demolition of the 53rd Terrace bridge, which began on Friday and ended Sunday.

Sacrificing their Saturday, Bridge Crew completed much-needed deck repair on the Parvin Road and 48th St bridges. During that time, Skiles, Nashua, and Northmoor used a weedeater around the signs and guardrails, mowed within the corridor, and replaced worn-out/broken delineation.

T-shirts, stickers fundraiser helps EAC

The Kansas City District EAC is currently selling T-shirts and shirts. Funds from these sales will go to employee assistance within the Kansas City District. 

If you are interested, please print and fill out the form below. Orders and money are due by July 28. 

KC Scout activates several new color digital message boards

The KC Scout Traffic Management Center began activating new color digital message boards on Monday, June 28. These boards feature digital travel time messages utilizing full color interstate and highway shields. Nationwide studies have shown that the color interstate and highway shields are easier for drivers to read as they travel along the freeway. As replacements of several KC Scout dynamic message boards were already scheduled for the spring 2021, KC Scout used this opportunity to install the upgraded boards. 

"Thanks to new advancements in technology, these higher definition and more energy efficient message boards are available at the same cost as the original sign boards that were installed 20 years ago,” explains KC Scout’s Transportation Project Manager Mark Sommerhauser.

“After years of 24/7 usage, the existing signs were overheating once the air temperature neared 90 degrees. These dynamic message sign board failures were unacceptable since motorists depend on these boards to accurately warn them of incidents ahead on the freeway,” Sommerhauser explains.

These types of message boards have been used to warn motorists of incidents and overall congestion along freeways in the Kansas City region over the past 20 years. The color interstate and highway shields will be used at the following locations:

• Westbound I-70 near U.S. 40 and Blue Ridge Blvd., Blue Ridge Cutoff, and Jackson Ave.
• Eastbound I-70 near Brooklyn Ave., Manchester Trafficway, and Lee’s Summit Rd.
• Westbound I-435 near Holmes Rd.
• Eastbound I-435 near I-470 and I-49.
• Southbound I-435 near I-70.
• Southbound MO Route 291 near 39^th St.

KC Scout is Kansas City's bi-state traffic management system, designed to lessen traffic jams by improving rush-hour speeds, increasing safety by decreasing the number of rush-hour accidents and improving emergency response to traffic situations by clearing incidents quickly and safely. 

MoDOT KC Maintenance Crew Leader Scores a big find on the highway

 

Lee’s Summit Maintenance Crew Leader Brandon Morgason became somewhat of a superstar after stumbling upon what appeared to be some very valuable Chiefs memorabilia.

While mowing on southbound I-470 near Bowlin Road, Wednesday, June 9, Morgason stopped his tractor, hopped out, and made an interesting discovery.

Inside a cardboard box, lying in thick grass was a framed, autographed jersey of Chiefs great and NFL Hall of Famer, Len Dawson. Also, inside the tattered box, an 8x10 photo of Chiefs’ perennial Pro-Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez.

Morgason says he stopped his tractor because the some-what large box caught his eye as he was mowing. Once Morgason was standing over the box, he lifted it by one of its corners and the contents, lazily wrapped in bubble wrap came pouring out.

His reaction: no way!

Morgason immediately called his supervisor. Shortly thereafter, Assistant Maintenance Supervisor Milton Valetin arrived on the scene. The two of them discussed how could something that appeared to be worth a lot of money find its way on the side of a busy highway in the Kansas City area?

While that discussion was going on, a member of MoDOT KC’s Communications Department posted to social media the surprising find. Soon, media calls from local Kansas City TV stations started to come in.

Morgason was interviewed by KMBC, Fox4 and KSHB TV less than an hour after his discovery.

He told one reporter when he’s mowing, he doesn’t always stop to investigate because the grass is so tall and that he doesn’t always see things. Thankfully, he did that day.

Asked what his thoughts were about returning the found items, Morgason said, “I had no thoughts of you know keeping it or anything. My thought was, if I’m the owner and if I lose it, and somebody found it, it would be awesome if somebody gave it back.”

The items were turned over to the Lee’s Summit Police Department, who will hopefully find the rightful owners.

 

 

 

 

 

State team member recognition month

June is the State of Missouri's Employee Recognition Month! To celebrate, MoDOT is hosting the following activities throughout the month:

u  June 1-4 - Site Visits from Leadership – MoDOT management will be visiting employees in person at their worksites (social distancing practices will be followed).

u  June 7-11 – Thank a Team Member – Send a thank you email to your team; send handwritten notes to individual employees or give them a call to show appreciation.

u  June 14-18 - Dress Down Week – Employees can wear jeans and MoDOT apparel or apparel representing their favorite sports team or a child's team (or apparel that promotes another "team" that you are affiliated with outside of work).

u  June 21-25 – Celebrate with Food – Managers/employees can bring in pre-packaged snack food items to share with employees during the week. Employees are welcome to pick up items to enjoy but gathering in groups should be avoided and social distancing practices should be followed.

Materials issues beautification challenge to district employees

Employees are back at the office, but that doesn’t mean they have to sit at their desks all day. 

MoDOT KC District Construction and Materials Engineer Brian Burger organized an afternoon where materials employees in his department weeded the landscape in front of the District Office on Wednesday, May 26.

 

“This is the first year we’ve done it,” Burger said. “We thought it looked pretty rough and decided to take action.”

 

Burger along with seven other MoDOT materials employees donned gardening gloves and bug spray as they pulled weeds from in between the rocks of the landscaping.

 

“We are kind of doing it to challenge other groups to do it as well,” Burger said.

 

Burger said he would like to specifically challenge design and the management team to come out and do their part to keep the building’s landscape looking pristine.

 

Senior Facility Operations Specialist Randy Whyde appreciates the work that Burger and his team did.

 

 “It was extremely helpful,” Whyde said.

 

Whyde said they are currently short two of the four building and grounds positions.

 

This week Whyde has a company coming to spray, weed and re-mulch the landscaping.

 

But he said it takes vigilance throughout the summer to keep weeds out of the landscape.

 

“You are constantly walking through and picking them,” Whyde said.

 

Whyde encourages other departments to follows Burger’s lead.

 

Not only does the activity help facility operations, but it also serves as a team-building exercise.

 

“It’s something different that breaks up the monotony for sure,” Intermediate Materials Inspector Daniel Allred said.

 

And you don’t have to be a seasoned gardener to participate.

 

“Nothing is impossible,” Assistant District Construction and Materials Engineer Thankum Mathew said.

 

Mathew describes herself as a novice when it comes to gardening. She recommends that employees who volunteer to help with the landscaping wear gloves for their hands and use a gardening pad for their knees. With the right tools, Mathew said, it can be a fun experience.

 

“I’m enjoying it,” she said.  

 

Whyde also encourages all employees to pick up litter when they see it on MoDOT’s campus and keep any food they bring into the office in sealed containers. All of these efforts will help keep our facility clean.

Click here to view the entire photo gallery. 

 

Information on MoCareers

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