It’s a Friday afternoon, and the tenth floor at the Arkansas Department of Transportation building is quiet. Director Lorie Tudor and I sit in her office and talk about the memorial being planned for ARDOT workers and Arkansas Highway Police Officers who have died while working. Some states already have elaborate memorials built. Arkansas only has a very modest display involving orange highway cones in an office hallway. Each cone represents an ARDOT worker who has died while working.

Tudor says, “Five years ago, I started thinking about a permanent memorial. We have always wanted to do something to adequately honor our employees who have lost their lives in the line of duty.”

There is no doubt that working on roads with traffic passing only a few feet away is one of the most dangerous jobs in America. The job is difficult on a perfect April day with the sun shining, but the work is even more dangerous at 2:00 a.m. on a cold December night with freezing rain falling. The current fundraising and planning of an Arkansas monument are consistent with department efforts to increase public awareness of road worker danger issues.

For the past two years, ARDOT has managed a media campaign reminding drivers to slow down in work zones. Police officers monitoring work zones now have more latitude to use technology to address the problem thanks to the legislation that recently passed to allow speed enforcement cameras in Interstate work zones. The goal isn’t to write more tickets; the goal is to save lives and prevent injuries. 

Arkansas Good Roads has aggressively supported ARDOT efforts to address this very real safety issue. Good Roads Members Associated General Contractors (AGC) and the Arkansas Asphalt Pavement Association (AAPA) didn’t hesitate to pledge $10,000 each to build the monument as well as the walkway and landscaping that will go with it. The monument will feature the name of every fallen department worker and Arkansas Highway Police Officer.

Robert Moery, President of the Good Roads Executive Board, says, “Our members have made it very clear that recognizing the people who have lost their life while working on Arkansas roads needs to be a priority. Other states have beautiful monuments where families can come and mourn their deceased friend or family member. It’s past time that Arkansas offered grieving families the same type of place.”

“Other states have beautiful monuments where families can come and mourn their deceased friend or family member. It’s past time that Arkansas offered grieving families the same type of place.”

—Robert Moery, President of the Good Roads Executive Board

This issue is unlike any other Lorie Tudor deals with. Tudor understands the orange cones in an office hallway that Arkansas has used to previously mark deaths are not enough. Tudor thinks drivers and driving have changed in recent years, saying, “It is a common perception that the roads have become more dangerous since COVID. Drivers are more distracted and driving aggressively. The lack of courtesy is dangerous and more noticeable now.”

The most recent death of an ARDOT worker was in May of 2023. Timothy Harris, a 25-year-old young man was struck by a passing car while trying to pick up a ladder that had fallen from a vehicle and been left on the road. Tudor says, “Just like the other sixty employees that we have lost since 1970, Timothy put himself in harm’s way to make the road safe for motorists.”

ARDOT has been working to find ways to make workzones and maintenance operations safer. Recent changes include adding green lights to vehicles and purchasing debris removal equipment. Tudor stated, “We want everyone to go home safe every night.”

Other states have made unique decisions about the placement and design of road workers’ monuments. Minnesota has an indoor memorial with a nearby digital display that tells stories about those who have died. Michigan’s monument is a series of statues with men and women engaged in jobs typically seen on any road work zone in America. The Virginia memorial is a beautifully carved piece of granite overlooking a stunning mountain vista. It’s clear that a great deal of thought has gone into both the design and location of each monument in these states.

When something goes wrong at ARDOT, Lorie Tudor doesn’t hesitate to take responsibility, and when the department employees do quality work, she is quick to give credit to her staff. Her leadership has changed the ARDOT culture. Relationships with contractors and engineering firms have improved, and Tudor is always willing to listen to problems brought to the department.

But the memorial is different than a budget debate, a change in the bidding process, or a change in asphalt mixtures used by contractors. The memorial is both personal and a reminder of the steep cost that can come with doing this work. As we wind down our Friday afternoon session, Tudor simply says, “We need to make sure we honor them in a way that is worthy of what they sacrificed.”

“We need to make sure we honor them in a way that is worthy of what they sacrificed.”

—Lorie Tudor ARDOT Director

If you would like to make a donation to the fund set up to pay for the memorial, please scan the QR code at the left. Good Roads is helping manage the donations for this project. ARDOT employees will not be working on the project on state time, so Good Roads is helping manage the project coordination. Please scan the QR code in this article to get more information or to donate. Your support is much appreciated.

Moery says, “From the time we started discussing how to fund this project, our members made it clear they did not care about who gets credit for funding this work. This is not about anyone except ARDOT employees who have died while working, and it’s about their family and friends who want to think about the lives they lived and why they are missed. We are deeply appreciative to anyone who can help make this project a reality.”

ARDOT hopes to break ground on the memorial by the end of 2024. Currently, ARDOT employees from around the state have submitted design ideas and are planning local fundraisers to raise the money to build something the employees can be proud of. Tudor says, “The memorial needs to emphasize how thankful we are for ARDOT workers and that we acknowledge that their jobs are dangerous. Our men and women keep the roads safe for all of Arkansas’ road users. Some have lost their lives doing so. They deserve to be honored and remembered.”