On the lookout: KDOT workers have each other’s back

Equipment Operator Senior Rocky Lindgren from Salina, flags traffic in an active work zone. 

Whether a KDOT employee has worked on the highway for one day or 40 years, work zone safety is a top priority and a team effort. 

Equipment Operators at KDOT say they are constantly looking over their shoulders watching for traffic and guarding their safety while working on the roads. Terry Shank, Equipment Operator Senior in Salina, explained how crucial it is that they pay attention to traffic and don’t lose focus, or they could get hurt. 

“When you flag, you take turns with other workers to prevent fatigue,” said Rocky Lindgren, Equipment Operator Senior in Salina. “This prevents mental fatigue and loss of focus while on the job.”

Do you ever approach a work zone and wonder why so many trucks are needed? 

The trucks following a spray patch operation drive over the patches to pack in the loose gravel but that’s only one of the reasons they are there — they also help keep workers safe.

“Trucks are there to alert traffic of a work zone and to make sure traffic gets over in time, so workers can remain safe,” said Kort St. Clair, Highway Maintenance Supervisor in McPherson. “If the operators in the trucks notice something of concern they can warn their coworkers ahead of time.”

Crews in north central Kansas fill potholes using the spray patching technique.

“We look out for one another,” said Tim Frederiksen, Equipment Operator in Salina. “We watch to make sure someone doesn’t step too far over into the traffic while working and they do the same for us."

It is imperative that traffic move over to allow workers the room they need while working.  KDOT workers want to go home safe and they want the same for their coworkers.

KDOT employees ask that all drivers put away distractions, slow down and pay attention while driving through work zones. One mistake could cost them their life. That phone call or text can wait. 

KDOT: A Farmer’s Workplace

KDOT employs many farmers across the state. Here are a few who work in north central Kansas.

Ashley Tammen,

Public Affairs Manager, north central Kansas

For several KDOT employees, operating equipment happens both on the job and in the fields. Several of the KDOT employees in north central Kansas have taken up farming as a side job or hobby, or they help a fellow farmer during the busy seasons. Their supervisors said that the hard work that is instilled in them as farmers and their experience operating equipment makes them great employees at KDOT. 

Here are a few stories of KDOT farmers:

Tom Wendell in Beloit has experience not only as an Equipment Operator working for KDOT, but he also raises livestock and runs a farm. Wendell has been with KDOT for 42 years and raises cattle, sheep and goats. He plants and bales his own hay, which he uses to feed them in the evenings after getting home from work.

 “Sometimes I have gotten home at 8:30 p.m., after working a 12-hour shift at KDOT and after going out to the barn to check on the lambs I discover a baby is born so I am out there till 1:30 or 2 a.m. helping take care of the newborn lamb,” said Wendell.

Ed Dohl, Equipment Operator in Lincoln, does a little bit of everything when it comes to farming. He has cattle, sheep, wheat, milo, soybeans, a horse and even a mule. Dohl says a typical day for him starts with chores on the farm and putting wood in the wood stove before heading to work. Dohl says KDOT is a good place for a farmer to work and he likes the early summer hours, so he can get off early and work on the farm.

Rodney Howard, Highway Maintenance Supervisor in Burr Oak, grew up on his family farm and started with KDOT in September 1977 as an Equipment Operator in Mankato. He has continued farming while working for KDOT and now supervises the crew in Mankato. Howard farms about 150 acres of wheat and 150 acres of soybeans on his family farm. 

“KDOT has been very good to me and my family, and I have tried to be helpful in return,” said Howard.

 “I enjoy working for KDOT. There’s great benefits, flexibility to help farm, and it’s nice that we’re not always doing the same thing because jobs change from season to season,” said Lance Wilton, Equipment Operator Specialist in Lincoln.

These are only some of their stories, and many KDOT employees also help with harvest and planting every year. KDOT appreciates these farmers for their hard work and being part of the KDOT team!

Just another day at the office: KDOT crews save lives

KDOT Highway Maintenance Supervisor, Clyde Thrush helped save the day for one critically ill patient during the weekend snow storm. 

A major storm hit most of Kansas on Nov. 25, and the hard work of numerous KDOT employees across the state to clear the highways did not go unnoticed. Two examples of these efforts include employees from north central Kansas.

For Clyde Thrush, Highway Maintenance Supervisor in Minneapolis, snow removal and treating the roads for ice is just part of the job. But that day, it meant helping to get a critically ill patient the urgent medical care they needed. 

Jim Frye, KDOT Field Maintenance Manager, was contacted by Concordia Hospital and was told they had an emergency patient who needed to get to Salina Regional Hospital as quickly as possible. They asked for a snow plow to lead the way down U.S. 81. Frye contacted Thrush who happened to be at the junction of U.S. 81 and U.S. 24 at the time and was more than happy to assist. 

“We do what we can here at KDOT to help the public,” said Thrush.
According to a thank you note written by Brandon Bennett of Concordia Fire Department, he said the employee driving the snow plow (Clyde Thrush) went above and beyond the call of duty that day. 

“While en route, we got a call from dispatch that there was a snow plow truck trying to catch up to us to lay salt in our path,” Bennett said. “Mind you, Highway 81 this evening was a sheet of ice, and we were barely able to maintain 25 mph without our ambulance starting to slide. 

 “So eventually the snow plow caught up to us about 15 miles south of Concordia and we fell in behind him as he layed salt. This plow driver stayed in front of us all the way to Salina. Not only that, but he even got off the freeway and ensured our path was clear on the side streets up until we pulled into the hospital with our patient.”

Cody Deneault, Equipment Operator from Belleville, also helped people who were stuck in a snow drift. 

For Cody Deneault, Equipment Operator in Belleville, helping the public meant getting out to help a person whose vehicle was stuck in a snow drift. According to an email sent to KDOT, Deneault pulled over to assist the motorist dig underneath the car and then helped to push the car out of the snow drift. 

A special thanks to all the KDOT employees working around the clock to clear the highways during this blizzard.