Ames, Iowa — An Ashton man is one of two Iowa Department of Transportation employees who lost their lives in work zone crashes in 2020, who are being honored by the DOT this week in recognition of National Work Zone Awareness Week.
On Tuesday, July 21st, Lynn Roder, a 14+-year employee from the DOT’s Ashton garage, was directing traffic in a construction zone on U.S. 18 near Boyden when he was struck and killed. He left behind a wife, two children, and their spouses, two grandchildren, and many family and friends.
Also being honored is Jeff Arbogast, a 20-year DOT employee from the Mount Pleasant garage. On Monday, Aug. 10th, Arbogast was in an Iowa DOT vehicle working on U.S. 218 near Olds. His vehicle was struck by a large truck and he was killed. He left behind a wife, three children, two grandchildren, and many family and friends.
The DOT says safety is at the heart of all they do. Whether it’s protecting each and every person using the transportation system or those on their own team, every task completed by an Iowa DOT employee serves the purpose of making transportation in Iowa safer for all of us. They are continuously working to engineer safer roads and bridges, create systems that provide warnings and better information that allow drivers to make safer and more informed travel decisions, and remind drivers of the important role they play through enforcement.
But the safety of Iowa’s roads is not just the responsibility of the Iowa DOT. Each and every driver out on the road needs to understand the important role they play in contributing to or decreasing the safety of Iowa’s transportation system.
When you see flashing lights ahead, no matter what the source, move over or slow down. As the weather gets warmer, more DOT team members are out working on the road, many times with very little buffer between them and traffic traveling at highway speeds. Whether they are patching potholes, repairing guardrails, or any number of other tasks, this is dangerous work. DOT workers are trained to work safely, but there has been a significant uptick in inattentive and speeding drivers. That puts not only DOT workers, but anyone on the road, at higher risk.
The DOT says everyone has a higher chance of getting home safely at the end of the day if every driver would do four simple things, buckle up, slow down, drive sober and pay attention.
