WVDOT, friends and family join to honor workers lost in the line of duty

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More than a dozen West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) employees, friends and family members of workers killed on the job met at the WVDOT Fallen Worker Memorial in Williamstown on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, to remember the 57 WVDOT employees who have lost their lives over the years.

WVDOT Chief Engineer of Special Operations Jake Bumgarner, P.E., said the Fallen Worker Memorial, located at the Interstate 77 Welcome Center in Williamstown, came about after a friend of his, Randy Bland, was killed in 2015.

For highway workers, a day on the job is often on roadsides with traffic whizzing by at 55 mph.

"That's their office," Bumgarner said. "They go into a work zone and do their work."

For Bland, "He was out there doing his job, and didn't make it home that night," Bumgarner said.

"What this is about is never adding another name to this memorial," Bumgarner said. "This year we've had two very close calls."

In March, Jordan Swiger was struck while manning traffic control at an accident site on US 50 near Clarksburg and spent three weeks in the hospital. Another worker was hit patching potholes on Interstate 79, barely escaping serious injury.

Earlier in April, a contract flag worker for A.L.L. Construction was killed in a work zone after being run over by a distracted driver who failed to stop.

Bumgarner urged all drivers to slow down in work zones, put away distractive devices, and pay attention. But the WVDOT also has its role to play, he said.

"The minimum safety standard doesn't cut it," he said. "Don't cut corners on work zone safety."