Caltrans honors fallen workers
EL CENTRO – The infusion of $54 billion into the state’s roadways over the next decade has state Department of Transportation officials redoubling their focus on highway worker safety and promoting safe driving practices.
Their latest appeal came Tuesday during the Caltrans District 11 annual Highway Workers Memorial Day ceremony, which paid homage to the 189 workers who have died on the job since 1921.
As a result of the passage of Senate Bill 1 and its $54 billion in funding, the motoring public and Caltrans personnel can expect additional roadway improvement projects and, by extension, additional opportunities for unexpected traffic mishaps.
“This will bring into sharper focus the challenges we face to ensure the safety of our workers and motorists,” said District 11 interim Director Tim Gubbins. “They need to be work-zone alert.”
The need to further promote safety for both highway workers and motorists was underscored by the tribute paid to the Caltrans workers and California Highway Patrol personnel who have died in the line of service.
In remembrance of the agency’s fallen workers, their names were individually affixed to 189 orange cones and read aloud during the ceremony.
Tuesday’s ceremony was also marked by the addition of two orange cones representing two separate Caltrans workers’ deaths in 2017.
A single black cone also served to remind those present of the CHP personnel who have died on-duty as well.
“Each one has made a difference in their profession and the service they have provided to the public, and in the lives of those closest to them,” Gubbins said.
District 11, which encompasses the San Diego and Imperial counties, was gravely impacted by three workers’ deaths in 2011, including that of Imperial resident and maintenance lead worker Jaime Obeso, who was struck and killed by a suspected drunk driver on June 7, 2011.
Gubbins took the opportunity Tuesday to honor some of Obeso’s surviving family members who were in attendance and to thank them for having shared their loved one with the close-knit Caltrans family.
“Every year since 2011 we’ve reopened those floodgates of emotions and memories as we share the pain of your loss,” he said.
Although the pain of her loss has not lessened all that much in the seven years since her husband’s passing, Maria Obeso said she is grateful for the support his colleagues have continued to show her and her family.
The family still enjoys close ties with several of her husband’s former co-workers, Obeso said, especially Caltrans District 11 maintenance area superintendent Sal Perez, who on Tuesday led those gathered in a moment of silence during the ceremony.
Reflecting on the Valley’s relatively small population, CHP El Centro area commander Capt. Arturo Proctor remarked Tuesday that traffic-related tragedies are all the more apparent, and impactful, because everybody knows someone who’s been involved.
One of his primary responsibilities is reducing the number of local traffic-related injuries and deaths through the partnerships, education programs, enforcement initiatives and engineering assistance it provides partner agencies such as Caltrans.
Proctor also had a bit of good news to deliver during Tuesday’s solemn ceremony: The county had experienced a 50 percent decline in the number of roadway fatalities in 2017, which totaled 10 in comparison to 19 in 2016.
He credited the agency’s increased activity in public outreach programs, motorist services, seatbelt compliance and maintaining safe areas in construction zones.
Similarly, Caltrans has adopted a series of work-zone safety practices that are aimed at reducing worker’s exposure to traffic while on duty.
“I’m here to tell you that what we are doing is great work,” Proctor said.
He also sought to assure Caltrans highway workers that their safety remains a top priority for the CHP.
“We couldn’t do our jobs without you,” Proctor said. “It’s all about taking care of each other.”