4 The Legend—April 2014

District 3 Employee News Dates to Remember

4/22 Earth Day

5/10 Mother’s Day

5/17 Armed Forces Day

5/26 Memorial Day

(ODOT Closed)

6/15 Father’s Day

John R. Kasich

Governor

Jerry Wray

Director

Allen C. Biehl, P.E.

District Deputy Director

April 2014

What’s inside…

DDD Corner

Customer Kudos

Move Over Law in Effect

Employee News

Get to Know...

Jobs & Transportation Plan Projects

The Legend District 3 Employee Newsletter

Governor John Kasich’s Jobs & Transpor-

tation Plan is fueling a $2.5 billion

statewide construction season—the larg-

est ever– that will put more Ohioans

back to work building some of the

state’s largest transportation projects.

Just a few years ago, ODOT was

forced to push back many transportation

projects communities needed in order to

improve motorist safety and local eco-

nomic vitality, sometimes by decades. In

response, Gov. Kasich challenged the

Department to think outside of the box

by unlocking the value of the Ohio Turn-

pike to bond $1.5 billion to help fill the

gap. That money, combined with federal,

state and local investments over the next

six years, will allow for nearly $3 billion in

new infrastructure spending, and much

of that work begins this construction

season.

Statewide, ODOT will spend $2.5

billion building 936 projects. The Ohio

Turnpike is partially or entirely funding

multiple phases of several projects

around northern Ohio, including the re-

construction of State Route 57 in Elyria.

The SR 57 project was the official site

for the Construction Kickoff event held

last week as District 3’s Public Infor-

mation Office invited members of the

media and community to hear the an-

nouncement of the District’s 2014 con-

struction season by DDD Allen Biehl.

District 3 will construct 81 projects

totaling over $135 million this season.

Motorists will see construction continued

from last year or begin on a number of

larger projects around north central

Ohio. Among the highlights of the 2014

D-3 program include:

*Bridge replacement on SR 89 over I-71

in Ashland County

*Rehabilitation & widening of SR 61 and

SR 598 in City of Galion

*Intersection improvement at US 250

and Strub Road in Sandusky

*US 250 bridge replacement in Fitchville

*Railroad grade separation project on SR

58 in the village of Wellington

*Bridge rehabilitation on SR 611 over I-

90 in the City of Avon

*Major rehabilitation of SR 57 between I-

90 and Ohio Turnpike in City of Elyria

*I-76 rehabilitation from SR 57 to Sum-

mit County line

*I-71 south to SR 303 ramp clear

interchange project in Brunswick

*Resurfacing of nearly 16 miles of SR 603

in Richland and Ashland Counties

*SR 95 resurfacing from Knox County

line to the village of Perrysville

*Smooth seal of US 250 Flack Highway

south of Wooster

*Improvement of SR 585 in Wayne

County

The entire list of projects under con-

struction this year can be viewed online

or through a brochure published by the

District Public Information Office.

Get to know…

Tom Pavlik Tom Pavlik is an HT 3 in Ashland County.

“Tom has embraced the role as the senior-

most HT3 in Ashland County and has es-

tablished himself as not just a leader

amongst his peers but a positive mentor in

the county as well. He plays a large role in

performing work list items and assisting in

developing work items as well. With his

very diverse skill range and strong

knowledge of the county landscape & depart-

ment operations, Tom has become a key com-

ponent to the Ashland County team,” said

County Manager Brad Mayes.

Family: Dad, 1 brother & 2 sisters

Pets: two cats

Hobbies: Cooking & Smoke BBQing

Book last read: 1776 by David McCullough

Favorite Movie: Mars Attacks

Favorite TV show: Game of Thrones

Favorite restaurant: Chinatown

Favorite website: allrecipes.com

Favorite vacation spot: Lake Tahoe

My pet peeve: Apathy

Favorite song: Can’t you hear my knocking

by the Rolling Stones

The ringtone on my cell is: Xylophone

The talent or superpower I wish I had was:

Time Travel

Least favorite chore: Laundry

If I could change one thing about myself it

would be: To stop aging

Favorite sports team: Cleveland Browns

First job: Road maintenance at Cinnamon

Lake

Best advice I ever received: Don’t sweat the

small stuff

Nobody knows I: Well, if I say, then everyone

will know!

Who, living or dead, would you most like to

have dinner with: Regg Rader, he was taken

too soon

Reclassification

Dan Wahsum from

HT 1 to HT 2 in

Wayne County.

Promotions Dawn Roxberry to

Transportation Engi-

neer 3 in Planning &

Engineering.

Walt Keener to HT 5

in Test Lab.

Brian Balduff to

Transportation Tech

Specialist in Con-

struction.

Employee Service Awards The awards were

handed out to the

following employees:

5 Years

Ryan Blair

Don Clodwick

Brad Corder

Joe Estepp

Pam Hunt

Mark Klenk

Bryan Shakley

Doug Webb

10 Years

Dustin Brown

Eric Calvert

Dennis Denman

Shawn Rogers

Chip Smith

Bill Wright

15 Years

Christine Jones

Jeff Labaki

Brenda Mayes

Bryan Prise

Todd Scott

Dana Sillman

20 Years

Walt Keener

Rick Minniear

Gary Schimmel Jr

Jeff Sprang

Craig VanHorn

25 Years

Ossama Abdallah

Kevin Capizzi

Stefan Feitl

Jim Kenyon

Sheila Knallay

Kim Reed

Nancy Rohn

Mike Schafrath

Bobbie Slater

Matt Slone

Dennis VanHouten

Ed Yetzer

30 Years

Bruce Dalton

Al Ellis

Mark Simcak

Centerpieces of State’s 2014 Construction Season

In this month’s photo banner: Beams are set

in place above the Vermilion River on the

$2.6 million US Route 250 bridge replace-

ment project in Fitchville

3 The Legend—April 2014 The Legend—April 2014 2

Ashland 53

Crawford 138

Erie 68

Huron 14

Lorain 166

Medina 19

Richland 6

Wayne 131

District 45

*thru March1

*

While the

weather in

Ohio remains

fairly unpredictable,

one thing is certain—

construction season is

upon us. As work zones and

orange barrels begin to sprout

up across the District, it is a good

time to remind every one to work

safely every day; after all, safety begins

with each of you.

ODOT is partnering closely with the OCSEA, the

American Traffic Safety Services Association, the

Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission, and the

Department of Public Safety to aggressively outreach to the

public by educating them on the recently enacted Move Over

Law, which you can read more about on Page 3. Part of the

public outreach includes radio ads, posters, and bumper stick-

ers. Very soon, all ODOT employees will receive bumper stick-

ers for their personal vehicles and eventually state vehicles.

The record number of maintenance projects this summer

will have many of our Highway Technicians out on our road-

ways in work zones across the District. Similarly, our HT 2s will

be heading out to the construction field in an effort to gain

hours to further advance in the HT series this season perform-

ing work within some type of a construction zone.

On the other hand, not all of us here will be actually per-

forming work in a work zone, it is likely that at some point

this summer season, we will all have to drive through them as

we travel.

A new study by the Associated General Contractors of

America recently revealed that 45% of highway contractors

had vehicles crash in to their work zones just last year. The

best way to improve safety is for motorists driving through

these work zones is to be more careful and pay attention; ex-

pect the unexpected; do not speed; and follow all traffic signs

and flaggers. As simple as it sounds, ensuring proper work

zone safety starts and ends with cautious drivers and cautious

workers.

Safety depends on you. Please make safety a priority in

the work each of you do every day. Even better—share the

safety message with your family and friends who drive our

highways. Never let safety take a back seat to the job func-

tions you perform.

As always, stay safe.

Al

From

the

Dis

tric

t

Dep

uty D

irec

tor

With the record breaking construction season this year,

coupled with local maintenance work plans, work zones will

be operational all around the state each day.

ODOT, along with the Ohio Turnpike and many other

public safety entities across the state, are working together

this year to promote the need for safe driving in Ohio’s

work zones to note Ohio’s expanded Move Over Law.

“The most effective way we’ve found to reduce work

zone crashes is to work with law enforcement and increase

their presence, and this year we have a new tool in our tool

box to do just that: Ohio’s Move Over Law,” said ODOT Di-

rector Jerry Wray.

Ohio’s Move Over Law is designed to protect the lives

of everyone who works on or uses our roadways. The law

requires all drivers to move over one lane (or slow down if

changing lanes is not possible) when passing by any vehicle

with flashing or rotating lights parked on the roadside.

Even the smallest mistake can be deadly when driving

through a work zone. In Ohio, there were 4,373 crashes in

work zones last year, including 1,118 injury crashes and 19

fatalities. From 2008 through 2012, ODOT vehicles and

equipment were struck 590 times by passing vehicles.

This issue is so serious that fines are doubled for failing

to move over—or slow down in a work zones if changing

lanes is not possible—when passing any vehicle with flash-

ing lights on the side of the road. Violators are fined $300

for the first violation (a minor misdemeanor); $500 for the

same violation within the same year; and $1000 for more

than two violations within a year.

“Increasing public awareness of the penalty for failing

to move over for a stationary emergency, law enforcement

or highway maintenance vehicle will save lives,” said OTIC

Executive Director Richard Hodges. “The penalty is strong

outside of work zones and it’s doubled inside work zones.”

The original Move Over Law took effect in 2004 to re-

duce risk to law-enforcement officers, emergency respond-

ers and tow operators. It was expanded in December 2013

to apply to every stationary vehicle with flashing lights, in-

cluding road construction, maintenance and utility crews.

Across the nation, hundreds of people are killed or in-

jured every year when they're struck by a vehicle after pull-

ing over to the side of the road or highway. On average,

these "struck-by" crashes kill one tow-

truck driver every six days; 23 highway

workers and one law-enforcement of-

ficer every month; and five firefighters

every year. Tragically, stranded motor-

ists are also struck and killed.

The state agencies are being joined in

the effort by the Ohio Department of

Public Safety, the Ohio Civil Service

Employees Association, the Internation-

al Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Ohio

Contractors Association, the American

Traffic Safety Association, and the Tow-

ing and Recovery Association of Ohio.

More information is available at Move-

Over.Ohio.gov on this law.

Thank you for my new mailbox. -Yvonne Curry, State Route 545, Mansfield, 3/19/14

I drive from Wakeman to Clyde almost everyday for work

and this past winter, ODOT did a pretty good job of keeping

the roads as clear as possible. For some reason, they were

more aggressive this year at clearing the roads. Good job!

-Mike Thornburg, Wakeman, 3/14/14

Congratulations to the District 3 Construction team of Randy Patti, Jim Burchfield and Bob Weaver! The

US Route 6/State Route 101 railroad grade separation project team recently won an International Part-

nering award. The team won the 2014 Partnered Project of the Year Award, Ruby Level from the Inter-

national Partnering Institute, the second highest award, which will be given out on May 15. The Part-

nered Project of the Year award is given to teams who distinguish themselves by implementing the IPI’s

best practices and by building high-trust work relationships on their projects. Winning teams demon-

strated commitment to the partnered process, achieved excellent results and delivered an outstanding

projects. The same project team recently won a Category 2 award at the 2014 Conaway Conference.

Al Biehl and Tim Farley were selected to speak at the 105th Annual

Meeting of the Mid-America Association of State Transportation Officials

(MAASTO) this July in Indianapolis with a discussion on ‘Planning for the

Future-County Work Plans.’ The conference consists of ten state transportation

agencies and presents information on upcoming trends and exchanging ideas for the

benefit of the transportation industry. Congrats to Al & Tim on their selection!

Co-Worker & Customer Kudos

Mr. Biehl:

Thanks to all of you for what you do.

This winter was a rough one. I appre-

ciate ODOT for keeping our roads

safe. I work in long-term care, and

we have to be at work each day.

Again, thank you!

God Bless,

-Laura Boyd, West Salem, 4/1/14

3 The Legend—April 2014 The Legend—April 2014 2

Ashland 53

Crawford 138

Erie 68

Huron 14

Lorain 166

Medina 19

Richland 6

Wayne 131

District 45

*thru March1

*

While the

weather in

Ohio remains

fairly unpredictable,

one thing is certain—

construction season is

upon us. As work zones and

orange barrels begin to sprout

up across the District, it is a good

time to remind every one to work

safely every day; after all, safety begins

with each of you.

ODOT is partnering closely with the OCSEA, the

American Traffic Safety Services Association, the

Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission, and the

Department of Public Safety to aggressively outreach to the

public by educating them on the recently enacted Move Over

Law, which you can read more about on Page 3. Part of the

public outreach includes radio ads, posters, and bumper stick-

ers. Very soon, all ODOT employees will receive bumper stick-

ers for their personal vehicles and eventually state vehicles.

The record number of maintenance projects this summer

will have many of our Highway Technicians out on our road-

ways in work zones across the District. Similarly, our HT 2s will

be heading out to the construction field in an effort to gain

hours to further advance in the HT series this season perform-

ing work within some type of a construction zone.

On the other hand, not all of us here will be actually per-

forming work in a work zone, it is likely that at some point

this summer season, we will all have to drive through them as

we travel.

A new study by the Associated General Contractors of

America recently revealed that 45% of highway contractors

had vehicles crash in to their work zones just last year. The

best way to improve safety is for motorists driving through

these work zones is to be more careful and pay attention; ex-

pect the unexpected; do not speed; and follow all traffic signs

and flaggers. As simple as it sounds, ensuring proper work

zone safety starts and ends with cautious drivers and cautious

workers.

Safety depends on you. Please make safety a priority in

the work each of you do every day. Even better—share the

safety message with your family and friends who drive our

highways. Never let safety take a back seat to the job func-

tions you perform.

As always, stay safe.

Al

From

the

Dis

tric

t

Dep

uty D

irec

tor

With the record breaking construction season this year,

coupled with local maintenance work plans, work zones will

be operational all around the state each day.

ODOT, along with the Ohio Turnpike and many other

public safety entities across the state, are working together

this year to promote the need for safe driving in Ohio’s

work zones to note Ohio’s expanded Move Over Law.

“The most effective way we’ve found to reduce work

zone crashes is to work with law enforcement and increase

their presence, and this year we have a new tool in our tool

box to do just that: Ohio’s Move Over Law,” said ODOT Di-

rector Jerry Wray.

Ohio’s Move Over Law is designed to protect the lives

of everyone who works on or uses our roadways. The law

requires all drivers to move over one lane (or slow down if

changing lanes is not possible) when passing by any vehicle

with flashing or rotating lights parked on the roadside.

Even the smallest mistake can be deadly when driving

through a work zone. In Ohio, there were 4,373 crashes in

work zones last year, including 1,118 injury crashes and 19

fatalities. From 2008 through 2012, ODOT vehicles and

equipment were struck 590 times by passing vehicles.

This issue is so serious that fines are doubled for failing

to move over—or slow down in a work zones if changing

lanes is not possible—when passing any vehicle with flash-

ing lights on the side of the road. Violators are fined $300

for the first violation (a minor misdemeanor); $500 for the

same violation within the same year; and $1000 for more

than two violations within a year.

“Increasing public awareness of the penalty for failing

to move over for a stationary emergency, law enforcement

or highway maintenance vehicle will save lives,” said OTIC

Executive Director Richard Hodges. “The penalty is strong

outside of work zones and it’s doubled inside work zones.”

The original Move Over Law took effect in 2004 to re-

duce risk to law-enforcement officers, emergency respond-

ers and tow operators. It was expanded in December 2013

to apply to every stationary vehicle with flashing lights, in-

cluding road construction, maintenance and utility crews.

Across the nation, hundreds of people are killed or in-

jured every year when they're struck by a vehicle after pull-

ing over to the side of the road or highway. On average,

these "struck-by" crashes kill one tow-

truck driver every six days; 23 highway

workers and one law-enforcement of-

ficer every month; and five firefighters

every year. Tragically, stranded motor-

ists are also struck and killed.

The state agencies are being joined in

the effort by the Ohio Department of

Public Safety, the Ohio Civil Service

Employees Association, the Internation-

al Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Ohio

Contractors Association, the American

Traffic Safety Association, and the Tow-

ing and Recovery Association of Ohio.

More information is available at Move-

Over.Ohio.gov on this law.

Thank you for my new mailbox. -Yvonne Curry, State Route 545, Mansfield, 3/19/14

I drive from Wakeman to Clyde almost everyday for work

and this past winter, ODOT did a pretty good job of keeping

the roads as clear as possible. For some reason, they were

more aggressive this year at clearing the roads. Good job!

-Mike Thornburg, Wakeman, 3/14/14

Congratulations to the District 3 Construction team of Randy Patti, Jim Burchfield and Bob Weaver! The

US Route 6/State Route 101 railroad grade separation project team recently won an International Part-

nering award. The team won the 2014 Partnered Project of the Year Award, Ruby Level from the Inter-

national Partnering Institute, the second highest award, which will be given out on May 15. The Part-

nered Project of the Year award is given to teams who distinguish themselves by implementing the IPI’s

best practices and by building high-trust work relationships on their projects. Winning teams demon-

strated commitment to the partnered process, achieved excellent results and delivered an outstanding

projects. The same project team recently won a Category 2 award at the 2014 Conaway Conference.

Al Biehl and Tim Farley were selected to speak at the 105th Annual

Meeting of the Mid-America Association of State Transportation Officials

(MAASTO) this July in Indianapolis with a discussion on ‘Planning for the

Future-County Work Plans.’ The conference consists of ten state transportation

agencies and presents information on upcoming trends and exchanging ideas for the

benefit of the transportation industry. Congrats to Al & Tim on their selection!

Co-Worker & Customer Kudos

Mr. Biehl:

Thanks to all of you for what you do.

This winter was a rough one. I appre-

ciate ODOT for keeping our roads

safe. I work in long-term care, and

we have to be at work each day.

Again, thank you!

God Bless,

-Laura Boyd, West Salem, 4/1/14

4 The Legend—April 2014

District 3 Employee News Dates to Remember

4/22 Earth Day

5/10 Mother’s Day

5/17 Armed Forces Day

5/26 Memorial Day

(ODOT Closed)

6/15 Father’s Day

John R. Kasich

Governor

Jerry Wray

Director

Allen C. Biehl, P.E.

District Deputy Director

April 2014

What’s inside…

DDD Corner

Customer Kudos

Move Over Law in Effect

Employee News

Get to Know...

Jobs & Transportation Plan Projects

The Legend District 3 Employee Newsletter

Governor John Kasich’s Jobs & Transpor-

tation Plan is fueling a $2.5 billion

statewide construction season—the larg-

est ever– that will put more Ohioans

back to work building some of the

state’s largest transportation projects.

Just a few years ago, ODOT was

forced to push back many transportation

projects communities needed in order to

improve motorist safety and local eco-

nomic vitality, sometimes by decades. In

response, Gov. Kasich challenged the

Department to think outside of the box

by unlocking the value of the Ohio Turn-

pike to bond $1.5 billion to help fill the

gap. That money, combined with federal,

state and local investments over the next

six years, will allow for nearly $3 billion in

new infrastructure spending, and much

of that work begins this construction

season.

Statewide, ODOT will spend $2.5

billion building 936 projects. The Ohio

Turnpike is partially or entirely funding

multiple phases of several projects

around northern Ohio, including the re-

construction of State Route 57 in Elyria.

The SR 57 project was the official site

for the Construction Kickoff event held

last week as District 3’s Public Infor-

mation Office invited members of the

media and community to hear the an-

nouncement of the District’s 2014 con-

struction season by DDD Allen Biehl.

District 3 will construct 81 projects

totaling over $135 million this season.

Motorists will see construction continued

from last year or begin on a number of

larger projects around north central

Ohio. Among the highlights of the 2014

D-3 program include:

*Bridge replacement on SR 89 over I-71

in Ashland County

*Rehabilitation & widening of SR 61 and

SR 598 in City of Galion

*Intersection improvement at US 250

and Strub Road in Sandusky

*US 250 bridge replacement in Fitchville

*Railroad grade separation project on SR

58 in the village of Wellington

*Bridge rehabilitation on SR 611 over I-

90 in the City of Avon

*Major rehabilitation of SR 57 between I-

90 and Ohio Turnpike in City of Elyria

*I-76 rehabilitation from SR 57 to Sum-

mit County line

*I-71 south to SR 303 ramp clear

interchange project in Brunswick

*Resurfacing of nearly 16 miles of SR 603

in Richland and Ashland Counties

*SR 95 resurfacing from Knox County

line to the village of Perrysville

*Smooth seal of US 250 Flack Highway

south of Wooster

*Improvement of SR 585 in Wayne

County

The entire list of projects under con-

struction this year can be viewed online

or through a brochure published by the

District Public Information Office.

Get to know…

Tom Pavlik Tom Pavlik is an HT 3 in Ashland County.

“Tom has embraced the role as the senior-

most HT3 in Ashland County and has es-

tablished himself as not just a leader

amongst his peers but a positive mentor in

the county as well. He plays a large role in

performing work list items and assisting in

developing work items as well. With his

very diverse skill range and strong

knowledge of the county landscape & depart-

ment operations, Tom has become a key com-

ponent to the Ashland County team,” said

County Manager Brad Mayes.

Family: Dad, 1 brother & 2 sisters

Pets: two cats

Hobbies: Cooking & Smoke BBQing

Book last read: 1776 by David McCullough

Favorite Movie: Mars Attacks

Favorite TV show: Game of Thrones

Favorite restaurant: Chinatown

Favorite website: allrecipes.com

Favorite vacation spot: Lake Tahoe

My pet peeve: Apathy

Favorite song: Can’t you hear my knocking

by the Rolling Stones

The ringtone on my cell is: Xylophone

The talent or superpower I wish I had was:

Time Travel

Least favorite chore: Laundry

If I could change one thing about myself it

would be: To stop aging

Favorite sports team: Cleveland Browns

First job: Road maintenance at Cinnamon

Lake

Best advice I ever received: Don’t sweat the

small stuff

Nobody knows I: Well, if I say, then everyone

will know!

Who, living or dead, would you most like to

have dinner with: Regg Rader, he was taken

too soon

Reclassification

Dan Wahsum from

HT 1 to HT 2 in

Wayne County.

Promotions Dawn Roxberry to

Transportation Engi-

neer 3 in Planning &

Engineering.

Walt Keener to HT 5

in Test Lab.

Brian Balduff to

Transportation Tech

Specialist in Con-

struction.

Employee Service Awards The awards were

handed out to the

following employees:

5 Years

Ryan Blair

Don Clodwick

Brad Corder

Joe Estepp

Pam Hunt

Mark Klenk

Bryan Shakley

Doug Webb

10 Years

Dustin Brown

Eric Calvert

Dennis Denman

Shawn Rogers

Chip Smith

Bill Wright

15 Years

Christine Jones

Jeff Labaki

Brenda Mayes

Bryan Prise

Todd Scott

Dana Sillman

20 Years

Walt Keener

Rick Minniear

Gary Schimmel Jr

Jeff Sprang

Craig VanHorn

25 Years

Ossama Abdallah

Kevin Capizzi

Stefan Feitl

Jim Kenyon

Sheila Knallay

Kim Reed

Nancy Rohn

Mike Schafrath

Bobbie Slater

Matt Slone

Dennis VanHouten

Ed Yetzer

30 Years

Bruce Dalton

Al Ellis

Mark Simcak

Centerpieces of State’s 2014 Construction Season

In this month’s photo banner: Beams are set

in place above the Vermilion River on the

$2.6 million US Route 250 bridge replace-

ment project in Fitchville