The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) hosted its 24th Annual Remembrance Ceremony on Wednesday, September 11th, 2024 at the department’s headquarters in Ewing, NJ. The Ceremony honors those who lost their lives on 9/11 and the fallen colleagues at NJDOT who lost their lives performing work for NJDOT. The Employee Memorial Wall on the grounds of NJDOT Headquarters now includes the names of sixty-six employees who lost their lives in service to NJDOT or its predecessor agency, the New Jersey State Highway Department, between 1920 and 2010.
Commissioner Francis O’Connor provided a keynote speech in which he recognized the great sacrifice many military personnel and veterans, law enforcement, and emergency responders from NJDOT and the New Jersey State Police have given. In his remarks, he noted that the memory of fallen colleagues should serve as a call to respect and protect those with whom we work. He urged those in attendance to never forget the importance of their work and to honor the memory of those that have been lost by renewing their commitment to service and safety.
Danielle Roman, Division Director, Region North Operations, gave tribute to the military personnel and Frank Neary, Director, Safety Programs and Transportation Data, followed with a tribute to law enforcement, emergency response and search and rescue operations personnel.
Eric Schwarz, Research Librarian in the Bureau of Research, Innovation and Information Transfer, spoke about the work of the Employee Memorial Committee that led to the addition of twenty-five employee names to the Employee Memorial Wall this year. Acknowledging that each employee’s death contained its own story, Schwarz highlighted recurring themes of heroism and sacrifice, taking a brief moment to touch upon the circumstances of just two of the employees whose deaths were reported in news articles discovered while performing archival research:
- In 1922, Harry Becker was tending a bridge at Westville, when he hurled himself in front of runaway horses to save several children who were in harm’s way.
- In 1933, Byron Broadwater saved the life of his fellow highway workmen. During a thunderstorm he directed the crew to seek shelter at his own home in Millville. Broadwater, however, gave his life when he was struck by a lightning bolt.
Schwarz noted that there were many other similar stories of courage and sacrifice that were uncovered by combing the archived newspapers, publications and official documents that were recently digitized with the support of a national transportation pooled funded study. Before names were added to the Memorial Wall, validation research was performed at the State Archives in Trenton and online to verify information and resolve discrepancies. The 25 newly added names have been added to two temporary plaques which will later be replaced by permanent markers in the same locations on the left and right sides of the memorial wall. The commemorative plaques were presented by Commissioner O’Connor later in the day.
Joseph Bertoni, Deputy Commissioner and Christopher Feinthel, Assistant Commissioner, Operations, then read off the names the names of the employees who gave their lives performing service for New Jersey. Kelly Hutchinson, Assistant Commissioner, later offered a tribute to all NJDOT employees who had passed away since the previous Remembrance Ceremony.
The Remembrance Ceremony Program for this year’s event can be found here, which includes a list of the 66 names commemorated during the ceremony. The proceedings included invocation prayers, remarks and tributes from several speakers, music, a Rifle Salute, and the playing of TAPS by the Trenton Detachment 207 and Marine Corps League Firing Detail. Photos of this year’s event are shared in the image slider below.
The Remembrance Ceremony can serve as a powerful reminder to attendees — and to those who read about the ceremony and work in transportation — of the importance of work zone safety and effective traffic incident management (TIM) training. NJDOT has created various resources and training materials to ensure that NJDOT employees remain safe throughout their workday. Links to several other related research and technical assistance resources are shared below.
RESOURCES ON TIM AND WORK ZONE SAFETY
For those researching or seeking to improve safety in work zones and in traffic incident management, here are several useful resources:
- Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Training, NJ Information Resources Portal. This website provides technical assistance resources to support TIM Responder Trainings that bring police, firefighters, DOT, towing, medical personnel, and other incident responders together to engage in interactive, hands-on incident resolution exercises.
- TRID Search on Traffic Incident Management. The TRID Database provides access to 1.4 million records of transportation research worldwide. Here is a saved search of research and ongoing projects posted in the last year with “Traffic Incident Management” as a search term.
- Slow Down Move Over (Video). Learn more about the Slow Down Move Over program from NJDOT that works to keep highway professionals safe as they improve the highway system.
- NJDOT’s Safety Service Patrol Celebrates 30 Years of Helping NJ Motorists (Video). The Safety Service Patrol is dedicated to helping stranded motorists get back on the road safely each and every day.
- Safety Message from NJDOT Commissioner Fran O’Connor (Video). Message from NJDOT Commissioner emphasizing that many crashes are preventable, and it’s the small decisions behind the wheel that can make all the difference.
- Talking TIM Webinar Series. The Talking TIM webinar series provides a forum where TIM champions with any level of experience can exchange information about current best practices, successful programs, and technologies.
- TRID Search on Work Zone Safety. Here is a saved search of research and ongoing projects in the last year that use “Work Zone Safety” as a search term.
- FHWA Website on Work Zone Safety Management. The FHWA Work Zone Management program develops and deploys solutions and strategies that enable agencies to incrementally and continuously improve work zone management to minimize traffic delays and maintain the safety of all road users and workers. This website provides facts and statistics, best practices, regulations and guidance, training materials, webinars and links to resources on related topics.
- National Workzone Safety Information Clearinghouse. A project of the Transportation Development Foundation of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). It is operated in cooperation with the U.S. Federal Highway Administration and Texas A&M Transportation Institute. Topics of interest include: Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety, Smart Work Zones, Transportation Management Plans, Accommodating Pedestrians, and Project Coordination in Work Zones.
- NJ LTAP Work Zone Safety Trainings. The New Jersey Local Technical Assistance Program periodically offers training course on work zone safety. Please check calendar for upcoming events.
Photos courtesy of Nicholas Whartenby, Office of Communications, New Jersey Department of Transportation.
