SANTA ANA (CNS) - Caltrans will begin installing memorial signs in roadside rest areas, public spaces, and along the California state highway system to honor workers killed in the line of duty, including seven in Orange County, officials said Tuesday.
The signs were designed, manufactured and will be installed by Caltrans workers to recognize the workers who have been killed on the job since 1921 across the state, according to the agency.
"Safety is Caltrans' top priority," Caltrans Director Tony Tavares said. "Lives are literally at stake every day. We hold a sacred duty to remember all the people who have lost their lives working with us, and I implore all Californians to please slow down and move over in every work zone, every time. A life may depend on it."
The following seven Orange County Caltrans workers have died in the line of duty:
-- Maintenance worker Raul Arismendiz and maintenance leadworker Glen Fenwick were picking up debris along Interstate 5 at Lincoln Avenue in Anaheim and were struck by an errant driver on Oct. 2, 1979;
-- Maintenance leadworker Thomas Davis was struck by an errant driver while working on State Route 133 at Big Bend in Laguna Beach on May 29, 1980;
-- Maintenance workers Hal Bierlein, Wayne Bowers, Michael Kelley, and Paul White lost their lives in a workplace violence incident on Dec. 18, 1997 at the Caltrans Batavia maintenance yard in the city of Orange.
The memorial signs will also serve to remind motorists of the importance of safe driving, particularly around work sites.
"Distracted drivers pose a huge risk not only to themselves and other motorists, but to our co-workers in the field," District Director Ryan Chamberlain said. "Our crews are working to improve the future for California's residents and visitors. Please be work zone alert and help us ensure that our co-workers return home safely to their families each day."
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, highway construction and maintenance work is one of the most hazardous occupations in the United States. In 2021, more than 9,500 work zone collisions occurred on California highways, resulting in an estimated 2,971 injuries and 73 fatalities. Nationally, drivers and passengers account for 85% of people who are killed in work zones.
Caltrans has partnered with the California Transportation Foundation to develop two funds to benefit the families of Caltrans workers killed on the job. The Fallen Workers Assistance and Memorial Fund helps with the initial needs a surviving family faces and the Caltrans Fallen Workers Memorial Scholarship is available to the children of these workers.
More information can be found at dot.ca.gov/programs/safety-programs/shsp.