Last week, Director McKenna shared several updates regarding compensation and benefits, as well as the overall health and status of staffing at MoDOT. | |
Compensation
Letters were sent to employees' homes providing an update on individual salaries and compensation. The letter outlined all salary adjustments the Missouri Highways & Transportation Commission has authorized as well as the governor and General Assembly approved cost-of-living adjustments over the past 18 months. Some employees received an additional adjustment, effective Aug. 1, 2023, to update compensation documents to align with the market more closely.
To combat staffing shortages and high turnover in specific maintenance orgs, MoDOT also increased a 4% market adjustment to 10%. Affected employees received that information in a separate individualized letter. This adjustment is based upon continued budget availability and MHTC approval. If an employee transfers out of one of the affected orgs, their salary will be reduced by the 10% market increase. Employees are encouraged to transfer within MoDOT to the affected orgs to help these mission-critical areas.
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Winter Staffing
MoDOT has coordinated an accelerated hiring process in the Northwest, Kansas City and St. Louis districts to onboard as many maintenance employees as possible to meet the needs of the upcoming winter season. Each of these districts are holding three hiring events throughout August.
In addition, the executive team has authorized the districts to hire above the allowed authorized positions for winter maintenance within MoDOT's existing budget by estimating mid-year turnover.
Adjustments have also been made to the employee referral program to include general laborer new hires, and employees are now eligible for four referral incentives per calendar year rather than two. To be eligible, the new employee must include your name on their application as a referral and stay employed through March 31, 2024.
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Safety
MoDOT is creating a Safety & Emergency Management Division to reinforce the department's focus on the importance of safety at MoDOT. This division will include a new section for Training Accountability and Oversight to focus on keeping employees up to date on the latest training.
Read Director McKenna's full email here.
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Governor signs House Bill 4 | |
On Aug. 14, Gov. Mike Parson ceremonially signed House Bill 4, which includes $2.8 billion in General Revenue to improve I-70 for 200 miles. Joining in the ceremony were (left to right) St. Louis District Engineer Tom Blair, Gov. Parson, Missouri Highways & Transportation Commission Vice-Chairman Dustin Boatwright, Improve I-70 Director Eric Kopinski, MHTC Member Bob Brinkmann, Senator Lincoln Hough and Deputy Director/Chief Engineer Ed Hassinger. Additional signing ceremonies were held on Aug. 15 in Oak Grove and Columbia. | |
Meet the Improve I-70 team | |
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Eric Kopinksi
Program Director
Eric has been with MoDOT for 14 years and has worked in various roles around the state. Most recently, he served as the project director for the I-270 North Project in St. Louis. He is passionate about technology and worker safety. He grew up in St. Louis and graduated from Missouri S&T.
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Jeff Gander
Central Team Project Director
Jeff brings 30 years of varied project delivery experience within MoDOT. Most recently, he was project director of the successful FARM Bridge Program.
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Zachary Osman
Design Lead
Zach began his MoDOT career in 2015 as a designer in Central District. He later served as Central District utility engineer, and as project manager for Boone, Cooper and Howard counties.
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Spencer Robinson
Traffic & Safety Operations Lead
Spencer has worked in Transportation Planning since 2016, most recently as the TMS administrator responsible for MoDOT’s statewide traffic and pavement data collection program. During that time, he helped implement several programs to increase worker safety, including the integration of StreetLight traffic data into their annual traffic data collection program. He grew up in Columbia and holds a civil engineering degree from the University of Missouri.
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Dan Oesch
Third Party Lead
Dan has served in several roles at MoDOT, including traffic studies specialist at Willow Springs, senior construction inspector in Jefferson City, field materials engineer in the Construction & Materials Division, resident engineer in Columbia and as the Central District design-build project director. He was a 2004 graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia and has maintained a passion for both safety and innovation throughout his career.
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Elizabeth Prestwood
Innovations Lead
Elizabeth has been working at state departments of transportation for 17 years and has program manager experience in delivering local programs, innovative finance, grants management and policy development. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in public administration with an emphasis in public finance from Texas State University.
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Lairyn McGregor
Communications Lead
Lairyn began her MoDOT career in Kansas City District's Communications Division in early 2017. She most recently led communications efforts for KC Scout and Jackson and Cass County projects, including the U.S. 169 Buck O’Neil Bridge replacement Design-Build project. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications specializing in public relations from Truman State University.
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Public invited to kick off Improve I-70 program | |
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MoDOT is inviting the public to preliminary information meetings to learn more about the Improve I-70 program. Missouri’s FY2024 budget from the General Assembly signed into law by Gov. Parson provides $2.8 billion in General Revenue for the costs to build a third lane of Interstate 70 across the state. The program will plan, design, construct, reconstruct, rehabilitate and add a third lane in each direction on approximately 200 miles of I-70 from Blue Springs to Wentzville.
The public is invited to attend the informational meetings where MoDOT engineers will share preliminary information about the goals for improving I-70, possible construction schedules for the 200 miles and next steps.
An online comment form is also available at modot.org/improvei70/public-involvement. The comment period online will be open from Aug. 28 – Sept. 22.
The open house meeting dates, times and locations are as follows:
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Aug. 28, 4-6 p.m. - Wentzville City Hall Board of Alderman Meeting Room - 1001 Schroeder Creek Boulevard, Wentzville.
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Aug 29, 4-6 p.m. - Warren County Administration Building - 101 Mockingbird Lane, Warrenton.
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Aug. 30, 4-6 pm.. - Concordia Community Center - 802 S. Gordon Street, Concordia.
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Aug. 31, 5-7 p.m. - Jonesburg Elementary School Gym - 106 Smith Road., Jonesburg.
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Sept. 5, 4-6 p.m. - Jackson County Fire Protection District Education Center - 4715 W U.S. 40 Highway, Blue Springs.
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Sept. 6, 5-7 p.m. - Battle High School Auxiliary Gym - 7575 St. Charles Road, Columbia.
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Sept 7, 5-7 p.m. - Hannah Cole Primary School Gym - 1700 W. Ashley Road, Boonville.
Access for people with disabilities is available. People with disabilities who require special services at the public meeting should notify Improve I-70 Communications Coordinator, Lairyn McGregor, by Aug. 21, at 816-607-2152, so arrangements for those services can be made.
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ENGAGE 2.0 evaluation period coming soon | |
Sept. 1 starts the next ENGAGE 2.0 evaluation period, which will run through Sept. 30.
Supervisors should continue to meet with employees and hold ENGAGE 2.0 conversations as outlined in the ENGAGE 2.0 Yearly Rhythm calendar (provided below). As a best practice, MoDOT encourages supervisors to hold ENGAGE 2.0 conversations during the evaluation period as well, but it is not required. Supervisors should also be sharing evaluation information with their staff at least twice per year during the debriefing conversations in April and October.
Dashboards for the March 2023 evaluation period will close on Sept. 30.
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eAgreements II training underway | |
On Sept. 5, eAgreements II will go live!
Trainers will be scheduling training sessions on the new system with districts and division users from Aug. 15-30.
On Aug. 31, the current eAgreements system will be turned off in preparation for the Sept. 5 launch. All agreements in the current system will be brought into eAgreements II before the launch.
Resources for eAgreements II:
eAgreements II Manual
eAgreements II Quick Reference Guide
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Service Desk Plus is here | |
Need help from the IS Service Desk? Service Desk Plus is now the way to get what you need fast!
You can quickly and easily submit a request through Service Desk Plus by going to the Information System SharePoint page or by accessing it through Microsoft Teams.
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Don’t just take our word for it, check out this short video to see what all the hype is about!
Try it for yourself the next time you need help: Service Desk Plus Homepage
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New equipment filling in the gaps | |
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A new solution to an age-old problem is filling in the gaps – literally. A piece of equipment being piloted in the Kansas City, Southwest and St. Louis districts is patching potholes at eight times the rate as the traditional method. It’s quicker, safer and yields better results.
In the Kansas City district, the pothole patcher has been used since March in Cass County and is now moving into other areas of the northland and then the rest of the district. It can fill more than 400 potholes in one day, whereas the traditional method fills around 50. In the last six months, the pothole patcher has filled nearly 4,000 potholes on more than 30 routes in the Kansas City district.
“Besides the huge time savings this equipment brings us, it most importantly keeps more employees off the road, which is a huge safety benefit,” said Maintenance Supervisor Anthony Crusha, who is leading the pilot program.
Operators do everything from the cab of the truck, and it only takes two to five people to run it versus a typical crew of four to seven. It’s also a mobile versus a stationary operation.
“The enormous number of potholes that were filled throughout this area will make a huge difference in our call reports and overall customer satisfaction,” said Assistant District Engineer Matt Killion.
Several supervisors in the counties where the work took place said they cut their call reports in half or more after the pothole patcher did its work.
Another major benefit is the material stays in place better. Liquid asphalt is used to line the hole before applying asphalt. Crews follow up by driving over it to pack it into the hole. The routes they started on in March have been inspected, and more than 95% of them are still holding together.
“Our hope is to have more than one unit per district by next year,” Crusha said. “This could change pothole operations forever.”
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Cancer program and screening basics | |
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Today’s technology allows doctors to diagnose diseases much earlier than ever before. Some of the greatest advancements are in the area of cancer screenings, which can help detect cancer sooner and offer the best chance for treatment and recovery.
Your primary care doctor should know enough about you to know which screenings are best for you. There are general guidelines such as beginning screening for colon cancer at age 50 for most people. However, those who have a family history of colon cancer should begin screening earlier, which is why it’s important for you and your doctor to know your family history.
For the average risk population, a colon cancer screening is recommended for men and women, and, for women, breast and cervical cancer screenings. Lung cancer screening is recommended for a specific subset of the population, including older individuals with a substantial smoking history.
The American Cancer Society’s website offers an easy-to-understand guide on recommended cancer screenings. It’s a good idea to take control of your own health and check which cancer screenings might be right for you – then check with your doctor. You can review your health plan to find out which screenings are covered or how much they may cost you out of pocket if they aren’t covered by your plan.
Learn more.
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Northwest District repairs bridge pavement blow up | |
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On July 28, with temperatures reaching 95 degrees and humidity at 67%, the top northbound deck of the Interstate 229 double-decker bridge in St. Joseph experienced a pavement blow up. Crews quickly closed the roadway and started developing a plan to repair the 70-foot section of driving surface.
The entire bridge, north and southbound, was already scheduled to be closed two weeks later, on Aug. 14, for annual maintenance. Staff coordinated with several MoDOT crews and contractors to push this work forward, beginning on Aug. 7, to coincide with the pavement repairs.
By Aug. 11, crews had removed and patched both lanes where the pavement blow up occurred. They also patched 40 additional areas of bridge deck, sealed, replaced crash barrels, maintained signing and lighting, and reopened the roadway by 10 a.m.
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Southeast District holds public meeting for Route 95 | |
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On Aug. 8, the Southeast District held a public meeting to discuss plans to widen Route 95 through Mountain Grove.
The project will not only widen the roadway, including the addition of a turn lane, but it will also improve sidewalks throughout the city.
Conceptual designs and timelines were presented at the meeting. Staff was also present to field questions from attendees.
| Wright County Route 95 proposed widening project limits. | |
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Construction could begin as early as spring 2026, with completion anticipated by fall 2027.
To learn more about this project, please visit modot.org/route95Wright, where a project handout is also available.
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Eddie Watkins
St. Louis District Traffic Operations Engineer
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After walking past the MoDOT table several times, Eddie Watkins, current traffic operations engineer, decided to sit at the table and listen to what the department had to offer. That was more than nine years ago at a career fair held at Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Since then, Watkins’ career and passion for safety of the traveling public through Missouri have rocketed.
Watkins started his career with MoDOT in January 2014 as a traffic studies specialist. One of his most fulfilling achievements in this role was working on the Natural Bridge Safety Initiative. This focused on a section of Natural Bridge Road in St. Louis City where traffic fatalities for pedestrians and commuters were escalating.
“Bringing safety to where the community felt underserved was a game changer for me. Through this initiative we were able to significantly reduce speeding through the area and increase the safety of all users on that section of road,” said Watkins.
After eight years, Watkins was promoted to traffic operations engineer. In his current role he is the safety expert for the district. This role oversees safety analysis, safety software and ensures the department is incorporating safety checklists on every project.
“I love being a public servant. Being able to make a difference that positively impacts the traveling public is why I thrive,” said Watkins.
Watkins also organizes and runs the Coalition for Roadway Safety for the St. Louis region, which is composed through a collaborative effort of diverse stakeholders. The mission of the coalition is to achieve safer roads through education, public policy, enforcement, engineering and emergency response.
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Northwest District
George Downing 35
Bryce Anderson 29
Northeast District
Michael Flake 31
Kansas City District
Nidal Alkhaldi 24
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Central Office
Denise Fennewald 16
Central District
Tamara Gregory 28
Dennis Hagen 15
Joseph Schmidt 25
Michael Schillers 32
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St. Louis District
Richard Schneider 30
Southwest District
David Johnson 9
Southeast District
David McClure 10
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The mission of Connections is to be a source of MoDOT news
and feature articles that connect employees statewide.
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MoDOT Communications
P.O. Box 270, Jefferson City, MO 65102
573-751-2840 | www.modot.org
Editor: Sr. Communications Specialist Bethany Belt
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