Communicating with the people of District 12

DISPATCH

Volume XIV, Issue 2 February 2014 January 31, 2013

Page 4 January 31, 2013

The Ohio Department of Transportation is an Equal Opportunity Employer

John R. KasichGovernor

Myron S. PakushDistrict Deputy Director

Jerry WrayODOT Director

ODOT Announces Plan for 1959 Bridge DemoJocelynn Clemings The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) has announced plans to demolish the now-closed 1959 Innerbelt Bridge. The TGR team was recently awarded the contract to demolish the 1959 bridge and construct a sister span to the already completed first bridge. The team has proposed a mixture of both traditional demolition and “con-trolled” – or explosive – demolition. “This demolition plan will protect the businesses that operate from the Flats as well as people liv-ing and working in the Tremont neighborhood,” said ODOT construction engineer Tom Hyland, P.E. The bridge rail-ings, lights, barriers and concrete driv-ing surface will all be removed using traditional methods. Specific spans over the river and railroads will also be disassem-bled in a traditional manner. Several spans will be demol-ished using the controlled demolition method. A professional demolition company – who has handled large-scale demolitions around

the nation – will perform the controlled de-molition and a safety perimeter of 1000 feet will be set. Additional details will be avail-

able this spring. In mid-January, crews began demolition operations which include removing light poles, barrier wall and railings. Soon after, the con-crete driving surface will be removed. This work is ex-pected to continue through the winter into the spring of 2014. Controlled demoli-tion is currently scheduled to take place during the late spring or early summer of 2014. The bridge is expected to be demolished in its entirety

by this summer. ODOT is in the midst of replacing the 1950’s-era Innerbelt Bridge with

two, new bridges – one to carry westbound traffic, the other to carry eastbound traffic. The westbound bridge – the first of the pair – was opened to traf-fic in November. The pair of new bridges has been named in honor of statesman George V. Voinovich. When both bridges are complete,

ODOT will have invested over half a billion dollars in the city of Cleveland over a six-year period.

www.Ohgo.com

Defensive Driving Courses Began in January

American Red Cross Blood Drives Suffer- You Can Help

In 2014, ODOT statewide will begin training all em-ployees in the Smith Driving System. The Smith Driv-ing System is the leading provider of collision avoidance driver training. It focuses on collision prevention through hands-on-training. In 1952, Harold Smith established the Smith System Driver Improvement Institute, the nation’s first professional driver training company. He understood that most collisions are preventable if the right driving habits are learned, practiced and applied consistently. Since then, millions of drivers throughout the world have ben-efited from the system Harold developed. The training is an 8 hour class, held at District 12. The training starts at 8:00 am with classroom instruction and finishes in the afternoon with hands-on-training in an ODOT vehicle with employees driving a specific route

while being evaluated by an instructor. The classes will be small, four employees in a class allowing for personal one-on-one time with the instructor. Training classes began on January 22nd and will contin-ue until all employees have completed the course. D12’s, Steve Lindo,is instructing classes right now and will be joined by HT, Mike Buehner, when the ice and snow season comes to an end. Both Lindo and Buehner spent multiple days in Columbus being trained to instruct this this course. When an employee is enrolled in a session they will receive an email training notification. If you have a conflict with the date please notify Barbara Gibbons at 216.584.2028 immediately, so a replacement can be ar-ranged.

Crews begin operations including removing light poles, barrier walls and railings on the 1959 Innerbelt Bridge.

You can take your place in someone’s heart as well as in history by coming to the District Headquarters on Tuesday, Febrauary 18 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. to donate blood through the American Red Cross. February is American Heart Month which makes it an opportune time to reflect on health and well-being, as well as how we can help save lives through blood donation. The harsh winter weather in January cancelled dozens of blood drives all over the state, leaving a shortage of blood supply. This, combined with the already low number of donations during the holidays, has the Red Cross putting out a call for donors, especially those with in-demand blood types. “Just in the month of January, nation-wide, we have had 600 blood drives or op-portunities to donate platelets cancel,” said Karen Kelley with the American Red Cross. Since the start of the month, Kelley said Northeast Ohio’s 19 counties saw 44 American Red Cross-sponsored blood drive cancelations. While all blood types are needed, people with type O blood have a special gift to give. People with type O blood are often called universal donors because their blood is

the only type that can be transfused to patients with other blood types such as A, B and AB. Patients with type O blood must receive type O. Close to half of all blood ordered by and supplied to hospitals is type O. Seasonal shortages of type O are com-mon because of the tremendous demand, so the Red Cross

is constantly recruiting type O positive and type O negative donors. Although type O blood is in high demand, all blood types are needed. The Red Cross encourages people of all ethnicities to give blood and help meet patient needs. Blood is needed every day by hospital patients with serious diseases like cancer and sickle cell. Patients with heart diseases and conditions often need blood products too, and can range in age from newborns to senior citizens. So have a heart and make your ap-

pointment to donate blood today. Sometimes it’s that one donation that makes all the difference in someone’s life. To schedule an appointment please contact Jill Powers at 216.584.2195 or email jill.powers@dot.state.oh.us. Be sure to visit redcrossblood.org to learn more about blood and blood needs.

Page 2 January 31, 2013 January 31, 2013 Page 3

NEWS IN THE MAKING: Around District 12Mark your Calendar:

Customer Kudo Corner District 12 is being recognized by its customers for its excellent customer service. The following are messages received recently in gratitude of ODOT’s hard work! If you’ve received a letter, e-mail, or phone call of thanks, the Dispatch would like to hear about it. Please contact D12.PublicInformation@dot.state.oh.us if you’ve received a Customer Kudo that you would like to share!

The following District 12 employees welcomed new bundles of joy to their families:• Highway Technician, Rick Struck, welcomed baby

boy Landon on May 1, 2013. • Transportation Engineer, Keith Hamilton welcomed

baby girl Kaitlyn on June 21, 2013.• Transportation Engineer, Kevin Rohde, welcomed

baby boy Bennett on January 7, 2014.

Thank you to all who worked today and sacrificed your

Christmas Day to serve the traveling public. Your efforts

are very much appreciated.

I also thank everyone involved with helping to clear the

various incidents over the last week. These were all very

challenging issues and you did a great job working hard to

reopen the highways as soon as possible.

Thank you all again. You are all doing a great job.

Myron

Valentine’s Day: February 14

Least Deadly Year on Ohio Roadways

President’s Day: February 17

Coworker Kudo Corner District 12 is being recognized by its customers for its excellent customer service, and now we’re recognizing District employees for their contributions! If you would like to give a coworker a “kudo,” the Dispatch would like to hear about it! Please contact D12.PublicInformation@dot.state.oh.us if you’d like to share a “Coworker Kudo” with all of District 12!

Dear Ms. Leonard:

Just wanted to send you a quick e-mail to let you know that a crew came out and did a fantastic job of putting up a new mailbox for my family and me. Thank you again for your help in resolving this and please let the Lake County Manager know that his workers did an excellent job. All the help was much appreciated!

Sophie Walters

I would like to personally thank ODOT for keeping the

highways clean. I had to travel to West Virginia Satur-

day January 25, 2014 to see my Uncle who had only two

months left to live. I’m so terrified of driving in the snow,

however ODOT gave me a feeling of safety. May GOD

bless those who worked countless hours to ensure the

safety of all travelers. You will always be in my prayers.

Nogira FitchKindred Healthcare- Stratford

Ohio recorded the least deadly year on state roadways ever in 2013. Last year 945 people died on Ohio roadways. That’s the lowest number since the state began keeping tabs in 1936 when 2,389 people died on Ohio’s roadways. State officials are cautiously optimistic about breaking the record this year and warn that motorist decisions are key factors in making roadways safer. “Roadway engineering is getting better, vehicle en-gineering is getting better and law enforcement is get-ting better. When you combine all of those, you get safer roadways for the traveling public and more people making it home safely to their families each day,” said Ohio De-partment of Transportation (ODOT) Director Jerry Wray. “In many cases, deadly crashes are preventable and motor-ists decide how safe the roads are going to be at any given time by driving sober, eliminating distractions and wearing seatbelts.” The most fatal year on Ohio’s roadways was 1969 when 2,778 people died. Roadway deaths have seen a steady de-cline since then and reached its lowest point in 2011 when 1,016 people died. In 2012, that number was 1,122. Improved roadway engineering and safer construction standards are helping to fuel the sharp decline in traffic deaths. In addition to spending billions of dollars each year on roadway maintenance and construction, the department spends more than $100 million each year specifically on safety-related improvements on all public roads – state or local. The department uses the money to complete safety

improvements at high-crash or severe-crash loca-tions, realign intersections to eliminate bad visibility, and add turn lanes or new traffic signals to im-prove safety. Some additional roadway improvements include:• Cable barriers to prevent cross-median crashes• Guardrail upgrades and improvements• Rumble strips to prevent drivers from leaving the roadway• Wider pavement markings to improve visibility• Larger, more reflective warning signs on curves Along with the Ohio Department of Public Safety, ODOT has made driver safety a priority and will use free-way message signs at various times to display safety-re-lated messages. For example, “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” and, “Click It or Ticket, Day and Night.” Of the 1,122 traffic deaths recorded last year, 470 were alcohol-related and 419 were drivers or passengers who were not buckled up. These are the two biggest factors cur-rently contributing to traffic deaths in Ohio.

Blood Drive: February 18Chili Cook-Off: February 19Indoor Golf Outing: February 21

Congratulations!

As a state of Ohio employee, several employee dis-counts are right at your fingertips. Vendors from accross the state offer discounted tickets for various events and facilities. Discounts are offered solely at the discretion of the vendor and approved by the Ohio Department of Adminis-trative Services. Discount offers include special events, like the upcom-ing Cavs vs. Lakers game on Wednesday, February 5. Other discounts include tickets to recreational facilities like

the Columbus Zoo, Ohio State Parks, River Expeditions and Great Wolf Lodges.

These are significant discounts that are only made availale to state of Ohio employees so take advantage of them! If you have further ques-tions you can contact Eric Hagely with the Depart-

ment of Administrative Services at 614.728.1127. For more details and to purchase tickets please visit the DAS website and click on employee discounts.

Human Resources Tip CornerEmployee Discounts

The following employees were awarded for their years of service in October through December 2013: Erika Ken-zig, Robert Adams, Mickey Rose, Rodney Troyer and Andrew Stoll 5 years; Damian Griffith 10 years; Vincent Puletti 15 years; Karen Studley and Keith Moore 20 years; William Gajewski 25 years and Nathional Early Jr., Dennis Palus, Dale Crowl and Jimmie Hart 30 years. Congratulations and thank you to these employees for their service.

Employee Service Awards

I am very impressed with ODOT keeping the roads driv-able during the recent snow storms. I drive I-271 in Wil-loughy, State Route 91, Richmond Hts., to Warrensville Hts. ODOT Please keep up the good Work.

Jean Witzke

Page 2 January 31, 2013 January 31, 2013 Page 3

NEWS IN THE MAKING: Around District 12Mark your Calendar:

Customer Kudo Corner District 12 is being recognized by its customers for its excellent customer service. The following are messages received recently in gratitude of ODOT’s hard work! If you’ve received a letter, e-mail, or phone call of thanks, the Dispatch would like to hear about it. Please contact D12.PublicInformation@dot.state.oh.us if you’ve received a Customer Kudo that you would like to share!

The following District 12 employees welcomed new bundles of joy to their families:• Highway Technician, Rick Struck, welcomed baby

boy Landon on May 1, 2013. • Transportation Engineer, Keith Hamilton welcomed

baby girl Kaitlyn on June 21, 2013.• Transportation Engineer, Kevin Rohde, welcomed

baby boy Bennett on January 7, 2014.

Thank you to all who worked today and sacrificed your

Christmas Day to serve the traveling public. Your efforts

are very much appreciated.

I also thank everyone involved with helping to clear the

various incidents over the last week. These were all very

challenging issues and you did a great job working hard to

reopen the highways as soon as possible.

Thank you all again. You are all doing a great job.

Myron

Valentine’s Day: February 14

Least Deadly Year on Ohio Roadways

President’s Day: February 17

Coworker Kudo Corner District 12 is being recognized by its customers for its excellent customer service, and now we’re recognizing District employees for their contributions! If you would like to give a coworker a “kudo,” the Dispatch would like to hear about it! Please contact D12.PublicInformation@dot.state.oh.us if you’d like to share a “Coworker Kudo” with all of District 12!

Dear Ms. Leonard:

Just wanted to send you a quick e-mail to let you know that a crew came out and did a fantastic job of putting up a new mailbox for my family and me. Thank you again for your help in resolving this and please let the Lake County Manager know that his workers did an excellent job. All the help was much appreciated!

Sophie Walters

I would like to personally thank ODOT for keeping the

highways clean. I had to travel to West Virginia Satur-

day January 25, 2014 to see my Uncle who had only two

months left to live. I’m so terrified of driving in the snow,

however ODOT gave me a feeling of safety. May GOD

bless those who worked countless hours to ensure the

safety of all travelers. You will always be in my prayers.

Nogira FitchKindred Healthcare- Stratford

Ohio recorded the least deadly year on state roadways ever in 2013. Last year 945 people died on Ohio roadways. That’s the lowest number since the state began keeping tabs in 1936 when 2,389 people died on Ohio’s roadways. State officials are cautiously optimistic about breaking the record this year and warn that motorist decisions are key factors in making roadways safer. “Roadway engineering is getting better, vehicle en-gineering is getting better and law enforcement is get-ting better. When you combine all of those, you get safer roadways for the traveling public and more people making it home safely to their families each day,” said Ohio De-partment of Transportation (ODOT) Director Jerry Wray. “In many cases, deadly crashes are preventable and motor-ists decide how safe the roads are going to be at any given time by driving sober, eliminating distractions and wearing seatbelts.” The most fatal year on Ohio’s roadways was 1969 when 2,778 people died. Roadway deaths have seen a steady de-cline since then and reached its lowest point in 2011 when 1,016 people died. In 2012, that number was 1,122. Improved roadway engineering and safer construction standards are helping to fuel the sharp decline in traffic deaths. In addition to spending billions of dollars each year on roadway maintenance and construction, the department spends more than $100 million each year specifically on safety-related improvements on all public roads – state or local. The department uses the money to complete safety

improvements at high-crash or severe-crash loca-tions, realign intersections to eliminate bad visibility, and add turn lanes or new traffic signals to im-prove safety. Some additional roadway improvements include:• Cable barriers to prevent cross-median crashes• Guardrail upgrades and improvements• Rumble strips to prevent drivers from leaving the roadway• Wider pavement markings to improve visibility• Larger, more reflective warning signs on curves Along with the Ohio Department of Public Safety, ODOT has made driver safety a priority and will use free-way message signs at various times to display safety-re-lated messages. For example, “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” and, “Click It or Ticket, Day and Night.” Of the 1,122 traffic deaths recorded last year, 470 were alcohol-related and 419 were drivers or passengers who were not buckled up. These are the two biggest factors cur-rently contributing to traffic deaths in Ohio.

Blood Drive: February 18Chili Cook-Off: February 19Indoor Golf Outing: February 21

Congratulations!

As a state of Ohio employee, several employee dis-counts are right at your fingertips. Vendors from accross the state offer discounted tickets for various events and facilities. Discounts are offered solely at the discretion of the vendor and approved by the Ohio Department of Adminis-trative Services. Discount offers include special events, like the upcom-ing Cavs vs. Lakers game on Wednesday, February 5. Other discounts include tickets to recreational facilities like

the Columbus Zoo, Ohio State Parks, River Expeditions and Great Wolf Lodges.

These are significant discounts that are only made availale to state of Ohio employees so take advantage of them! If you have further ques-tions you can contact Eric Hagely with the Depart-

ment of Administrative Services at 614.728.1127. For more details and to purchase tickets please visit the DAS website and click on employee discounts.

Human Resources Tip CornerEmployee Discounts

The following employees were awarded for their years of service in October through December 2013: Erika Ken-zig, Robert Adams, Mickey Rose, Rodney Troyer and Andrew Stoll 5 years; Damian Griffith 10 years; Vincent Puletti 15 years; Karen Studley and Keith Moore 20 years; William Gajewski 25 years and Nathional Early Jr., Dennis Palus, Dale Crowl and Jimmie Hart 30 years. Congratulations and thank you to these employees for their service.

Employee Service Awards

I am very impressed with ODOT keeping the roads driv-able during the recent snow storms. I drive I-271 in Wil-loughy, State Route 91, Richmond Hts., to Warrensville Hts. ODOT Please keep up the good Work.

Jean Witzke

Communicating with the people of District 12

DISPATCH

Volume XIV, Issue 2 February 2014 January 31, 2013

Page 4 January 31, 2013

The Ohio Department of Transportation is an Equal Opportunity Employer

John R. KasichGovernor

Myron S. PakushDistrict Deputy Director

Jerry WrayODOT Director

ODOT Announces Plan for 1959 Bridge DemoJocelynn Clemings The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) has announced plans to demolish the now-closed 1959 Innerbelt Bridge. The TGR team was recently awarded the contract to demolish the 1959 bridge and construct a sister span to the already completed first bridge. The team has proposed a mixture of both traditional demolition and “con-trolled” – or explosive – demolition. “This demolition plan will protect the businesses that operate from the Flats as well as people liv-ing and working in the Tremont neighborhood,” said ODOT construction engineer Tom Hyland, P.E. The bridge rail-ings, lights, barriers and concrete driv-ing surface will all be removed using traditional methods. Specific spans over the river and railroads will also be disassem-bled in a traditional manner. Several spans will be demol-ished using the controlled demolition method. A professional demolition company – who has handled large-scale demolitions around

the nation – will perform the controlled de-molition and a safety perimeter of 1000 feet will be set. Additional details will be avail-

able this spring. In mid-January, crews began demolition operations which include removing light poles, barrier wall and railings. Soon after, the con-crete driving surface will be removed. This work is ex-pected to continue through the winter into the spring of 2014. Controlled demoli-tion is currently scheduled to take place during the late spring or early summer of 2014. The bridge is expected to be demolished in its entirety

by this summer. ODOT is in the midst of replacing the 1950’s-era Innerbelt Bridge with

two, new bridges – one to carry westbound traffic, the other to carry eastbound traffic. The westbound bridge – the first of the pair – was opened to traf-fic in November. The pair of new bridges has been named in honor of statesman George V. Voinovich. When both bridges are complete,

ODOT will have invested over half a billion dollars in the city of Cleveland over a six-year period.

www.Ohgo.com

Defensive Driving Courses Began in January

American Red Cross Blood Drives Suffer- You Can Help

In 2014, ODOT statewide will begin training all em-ployees in the Smith Driving System. The Smith Driv-ing System is the leading provider of collision avoidance driver training. It focuses on collision prevention through hands-on-training. In 1952, Harold Smith established the Smith System Driver Improvement Institute, the nation’s first professional driver training company. He understood that most collisions are preventable if the right driving habits are learned, practiced and applied consistently. Since then, millions of drivers throughout the world have ben-efited from the system Harold developed. The training is an 8 hour class, held at District 12. The training starts at 8:00 am with classroom instruction and finishes in the afternoon with hands-on-training in an ODOT vehicle with employees driving a specific route

while being evaluated by an instructor. The classes will be small, four employees in a class allowing for personal one-on-one time with the instructor. Training classes began on January 22nd and will contin-ue until all employees have completed the course. D12’s, Steve Lindo,is instructing classes right now and will be joined by HT, Mike Buehner, when the ice and snow season comes to an end. Both Lindo and Buehner spent multiple days in Columbus being trained to instruct this this course. When an employee is enrolled in a session they will receive an email training notification. If you have a conflict with the date please notify Barbara Gibbons at 216.584.2028 immediately, so a replacement can be ar-ranged.

Crews begin operations including removing light poles, barrier walls and railings on the 1959 Innerbelt Bridge.

You can take your place in someone’s heart as well as in history by coming to the District Headquarters on Tuesday, Febrauary 18 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. to donate blood through the American Red Cross. February is American Heart Month which makes it an opportune time to reflect on health and well-being, as well as how we can help save lives through blood donation. The harsh winter weather in January cancelled dozens of blood drives all over the state, leaving a shortage of blood supply. This, combined with the already low number of donations during the holidays, has the Red Cross putting out a call for donors, especially those with in-demand blood types. “Just in the month of January, nation-wide, we have had 600 blood drives or op-portunities to donate platelets cancel,” said Karen Kelley with the American Red Cross. Since the start of the month, Kelley said Northeast Ohio’s 19 counties saw 44 American Red Cross-sponsored blood drive cancelations. While all blood types are needed, people with type O blood have a special gift to give. People with type O blood are often called universal donors because their blood is

the only type that can be transfused to patients with other blood types such as A, B and AB. Patients with type O blood must receive type O. Close to half of all blood ordered by and supplied to hospitals is type O. Seasonal shortages of type O are com-mon because of the tremendous demand, so the Red Cross

is constantly recruiting type O positive and type O negative donors. Although type O blood is in high demand, all blood types are needed. The Red Cross encourages people of all ethnicities to give blood and help meet patient needs. Blood is needed every day by hospital patients with serious diseases like cancer and sickle cell. Patients with heart diseases and conditions often need blood products too, and can range in age from newborns to senior citizens. So have a heart and make your ap-

pointment to donate blood today. Sometimes it’s that one donation that makes all the difference in someone’s life. To schedule an appointment please contact Jill Powers at 216.584.2195 or email jill.powers@dot.state.oh.us. Be sure to visit redcrossblood.org to learn more about blood and blood needs.