Bristol - On the Road - Oct-Dec 2022

Oct.—Dec. 2022 

Bland 

Buchanan 

Dickenson 

Grayson 

Lee 

Russell 

Scott 

Smyth 

Tazewell 

Washington 

Wise 

Wythe 

Service Awards: Employees with 45 Years of Service. 

On The Road 

A newsletter for and about the employees of the Bristol District 

Saluting our VDOT Veterans: breakfast held in fall 

A Veterans Day celebraon was held November 9 in Lebanon to celebrate the military service of VDOT Bristol 

employees. Thirteen veterans parcipated in the breakfast, sharing stories about their me in the military. 

Thank you to each of 

our Veteran’s for their 

service! 

Pictured: (L‐R, back 

row) Steve O’Donnell, 

Doug Shepherd, James 

Elam, Reggie Marnez, 

Bill Owens, Jay 

Meadows, George 

Doss, David Duncan, 

David Hampton, (front 

row) Rusty Bevan, Mel 

Counts, Wade Belcher, 

and Stefon Holts.

2022 Service Awards luncheon held, almost 1,500 years of service represented 

A luncheon was held November 30 to celebrate approximately 90 employees’ years of service to VDOT, 

from those with five years of service to seven employees with 45 years of service. Combined, the 

employees represent just under 1,500 years of service to the department. 

45 Years of Service 

Tony Dockery Fort Blackmore AHQ 

Tim Cregger Abingdon Residency 

James Dowell Roadside Management 

Phil East Contract Administraon 

Billy Gibson East Stone Gap AHQ 

David Grubb Traffic Operaons 

Steven Hopkins Locaon & Design 

Timothy Layne Speedwell AHQ 

Jerry Leonard Materials 


James Hayes Abingdon AHQ 


Jeffrey Ausn Bridge 

Robert Cornwell Springville AHQ 

Robert Hurt Bridge 

Peggy Lawson Wise Residency Business Services 

Steven Mullins Materials 

Mark Oaks Dryden AHQ 

Joe Yates Equipment 


Bob Barr Abingdon AHQ 

Brian Cole Materials 

Mark Denny Environmental 

Jeff Huff Lebanon AHQ 

Jimmy Melton Marion AHQ 

Kirk Osborne Glamorgan AHQ 

Marion Stowers Speedwell AHQ 


William Brewster Traffic Operaons 

Bryan Glover Traffic Operaons 

Jeffrey Goodpasture Construcon 

Jerry Gordon Traffic Operaons 

Michael Holmes Traff Operaons 

Richard Lefler Wytheville AHQ 

Dennis Lewis Abingdon Shop 

David Lively Bridge 

Joe Robinson Traffic Operaons 

Charles Ward Wise Residency Maintenance 


Richard Buckingham Locaon & Design 


Robert Baker Construcon 

Larry Hatcher Traffic Operaons 

Tina Neal Administraon 

Frankie O'Quinn Abingdon AHQ 


John Bechtold Bridge 

Jason Begley Fort Blackmore AHQ 

Jeff Buchanan Lebanon Residency Administraon 

Lance Click Bridge 

Howard Ellio Construcon 

Daniel Sco Fleenor Jonesville Shop 

Adam Fogleman Traffic Operaons 

Michael Fogleman Bridge 

Greg Gibson Construcon 

Jason Graham Bridge 

Timmie Hawkins Dryden AHQ 

Ronnie Horton Ewing AHQ 

Calvin Saltz Abingdon AHQ 

Elizabeth Stevens Lebanon Residency 

Russell Trent Abingdon AHQ 

Darrell Wess Tazewell Shop 


Anthony Akers Speedwell AHQ 

Roger Barton Deskins AHQ 

Tiffany Canter Bridge 

Emily Collins Bridge 

Tabitha Crowder Administraon 

Travis Deel Bland AHQ 

Robert Gibson District Shop 

Johnathan Halsey Volney AHQ 

Logan Jackson Highpoint AHQ 

Gerald Johnson Speedwell AHQ 

John Jones Wytheville Shop 

George Kraynak Fremont AHQ 

Robert Large Bridge 

Christopher Lewis North Bristol AHQ 

Josh Lewis Locaon & Design 

Corey Lowe Lebanon AHQ 

Woody McCowan Locaon & Design 

Shane Morrison Bridge 

Marcus O'Quinn Oakwood AHQ 

Kim Orfield Programming Inv Mngmt 

Jason Peak Glamorgan AHQ 

James Phillippi Marion AHQ 

Emerson Phillips Fremont AHQ 

Michael Plaster Tazewell / Bland Bridge 

Michael Seymore Locaon & Design 

David Sisk Wytheville AHQ 

Eddie Stapleton East Stone Gap AHQ 

Kermit Thomas North Bristol AHQ 

Pam Venable Accounng 

Josh Ward Traffic Operaons 

Wes Wya Abingdon Residency 

(Le 

2 

Bristol District: On The Road

Five Years of Service 

Ten Years of Service 

Plum- 

Fieen Years of Service 

Twenty Years of Service 

Twenty Five Years of Service 

Thirty Years of Service 

Lane Farm 

Thirty Five Years of Service 

Forty Years of Service 

*Photo of employees with 45 Years of Service is on the front cover. 

The 

Repass 

Bristol District: On The Road 

3

District Engineer’s Corner: 2022 in Review 

What a year 2022 was! 

Over the course of the 

year, the Bristol District 

has accomplished a long 

list of items including 

filling nearly 90 positions, 

establishing the Interstate 

Maintenance Office at the 

district, and continuing efforts to stand up 

the Operations Division in the district. I even 

learned how to operate a motor grader for 

the Statewide Roadeo in July! 

There were 18 snow events in 2022, one being 

around Christmas that had the potential to 

create very hazardous conditions. Luckily, that 

didn’t happen but our response was strong 

and I say “thank you” to each of you for your 

efforts over the holiday. 

We responded to two flood events, one in 

Wise County and the other in the Whitewood 

area of Buchanan County. Since the event 

occurred in Whitewood, we have removed 

approx. 27,000+ cubic yards of debris. The 

price tag for flood repairs to date is over $6.1 

million. 

Maintenance accomplishments for 2022 

include: 

Cleaned 673.8 miles of ditches 

Cleaned, repaired or replaced 7,217 pipes 

Performed tree trimming and brush 

removal on 2,252 shoulder miles 

Mowed 47,245 acres of roadside 

Graded 9,067 miles on unpaved roads 

Repaired 4,292 miles of unpaved 

shoulders 

Area Headquarters personnel collected 

field measurements and location 

information to inventory 13,086 pipes on 

secondary routes. 

We tried a few new things, such as in 

December celebrating employees with years of 

service ranging from five years to 45 years. 

This issue contains information about those 

celebrating service awards. Kudos to each of 

you! 

One of the new things we organized was a 

districtwide event to celebrate our 

Veterans. This event is highlighted on page 1. 

As part of a statewide effort to standardize 

Traffic Engineering and Operations, the Big 

Walker and East River Mountain Tunnels 

returned to the Bristol District. The two 

tunnels were a part of the Salem District 

(Southwest Region) for 15 years. 

Also, the Big Walker Mountain Tunnel 

celebrated a big milestone. On June 29, the 

tunnel celebrated its 50 th anniversary. 

Other 2022 highlights include: 

Jason Harris, Equipment Division TOII, 

represented VDOT as the statewide tractor 

truck w/ lowboy trailer competor in the 

Southeastern Regional Equipment 

Operators Rodeo in Baton Rouge. 

 

 

This fall, we transioned the 

Interstate Maintenance Operaons to the 

district office which included 

establishment of a new District 

Command Center. 

Bristol won the statewide paving award for 

a maintenance project (paving 

schedule) this past year (also highlighted in 

this edion of the newsleer on page 6). 

(connued on page 5) 

(Le 

4 


Project Development: finished fiscal year 

2022 with 89% of our projects on me 

(goal 70%) and 84% on budget (goal 

74%). 

Project Delivery: finished fiscal year 2022 

with 85% of our projects on me (goal 

77%) and 89% on budget (goal 85%). 

Completed Construction of 43 

projects in calendar 2022. 

 

Developed three apps – Crew Locator, 

Pool Car Schedule, and Digital 

Inventory Management System. 

22 total applications were submitted for 

Bristol District. 

Location and Design (L&D) has scoped 14 

projects and has advertised 14 projects 

this year with a total value of over $37 

million. 

 

During the past year, the Environmental 

section completed 439 environmental 

reviews, 381 Permit Determinations and 

completed 97 NEPA documents. The 

section has obtained 104 U.S. Army Corps 

of Engineers RP‐11 Permits and 

conducted 150 HazMat Project reviews. 

Plum- 

 

 

 

Business Team developed to 

centralize support funcons at the 

district complex. 

Completed more than 30 facility 

projects throughout the district. 

The Planning section completed five 

Project Pipeline studies which 

resulted in a total of seven Round 5 

SMART SCALE applications for various 

localities throughout the district. Overall, 

Looking forward to 2023, the Bristol District 

will be hosting the Commonwealth 

Transportation Board for their monthly 

meeting in April. 

Seeing all these items really brings to light 

how hard we worked in 2022 to Keep 

Virginia Moving! I look forward to seeing 

what great things we accomplish in 2023. 

‐ Tabitha Crowder, P.E 

CVC Campaign totals 

Congratulaons for the district’s outstanding 

donaons to the 2022 Commonwealth of 

Virginia Campaign. 

The district donated $2,655 worth of toys to Toys 

for Tots. In 2021, the district donated 

$500. 

Lebanon Residency collected $402 for the 

Appalachian Agency for Senior Cizens, 

purchasing gis for five Silver Angels. 

Fiscal collected $550 for the Isaiah 117 House 

and purchased a Walmart gi card for the 

organizaon to use for much‐needed items for the 

Lane Farm 

children who visit the Isaiah 117 House. 

A total of $3,607 was raised by Bristol 

District, not including individual pledges/ 

contribuons 

to CVC. 

Thank you 

for making 

this a great 

year! 


5

AHQ Teams make school visits in Fall 2022 

Kudos to two of Bristol’s residencies for geng out in the community to meet with local school 

children this fall, generously giving of their me and resources. 

Wytheville Residency’s Wytheville AHQ sponsored two preschool classes from Clinch Valley 

Community Acon Head Start in Fort Chiswell to a trip to the local pumpkin patch, raising over $300 for the 

event. Employees also provided a truck and motor grader to the school in October and gave out coloring 

books. 

Members of the Abingdon Residency and Chilhowie AHQ visited Chilhowie Elementary during their 

annual fall fesval, providing VDOT equipment to the school for the kids to get an up‐close view and providing 

candy to the students. 

Thanks to each area for reaching out to area school children, familiarizing them with VDOT and what we do 

in the community. 

(L‐R) Wytheville AHQ’s Derek Alexander, 

Jeremy Bishop and Trey Skeens. 

(L‐R): Richard Buckingham, Jeff Jones, Mahew 

Lewis, Ben Creasy, and Rusty Bevan at 

Chilhowie Elementary. 

VDOT Bristol wins 2021 Asphalt Association Paving Award 

The Virginia Department of Transportaon (VDOT) recently received the Virginia Asphalt Associaon’s 

2021 Pavement Award. 

The recognion is for maintenance paving located on Interstate 77 in Wythe County between mile 

markers 25 and 29. It scored the 

highest for all maintenance projects in 

2021. 

Construcon Engineer James Parsons, 

P.E., Area Construcon Engineer Brian 

Plummer, P.E., and Construcon 

Manager David Lamie worked on the 

project and accepted the award. 

Contractor W&L Construcon & Paving 

and Consultant MBP's Richard Woodard 

were also involved in the project. 

Photo Capon: VDOT recognized for 

excellence in paving (L‐R) James Parsons, 

Brian Plummer and David Lamie. 

(Le 

6 


Employee updates from Human Resources 

Rerements: 

Darshan Bansa, Engineer Senior Supervisor Structure 

and Bridge, 5 Years of Service 

Jeffrey Huff, Deskins AHQ Crew Leader Maintenance, 


James Jones, Engineer Project Manager, 22 Years of 

Service 

Samuel Page, Wise Residency Roadside Manager, 36 

Years of Service 

Jerry Townsend, North Bristol AHQ Operator 

Maintenance, 44 Years of Service 

New Hires 

Joey Barker, Communicaons Specialist Senior 

Rebecca Brewster, Accounng Specialist 

Joshua Brown, Speedwell AHQ Operator Maintenance 

Randal Ciccheo, Fremont AHQ Operator Maintenance 

Ronald Clark, SWRO East River Tunnel 

Christopher Coleman, Operator Sign Crew 

Bradley Davis, SWRO Big Walker Tunnel 

David Feldes, E. River Mtn. Tunnel Electrician Specialist 

Michael Hand, Operator Maintenance N. Bristol AHQ 

Jeff Harrison, Abingdon Residency Administrator 

Thomas Irvin, Operator Maintenance Sign Crew 

Josh Jessee, Equipment Repair Abingdon 

Orville Jessee, Construcon Inspector Apprence 

Randall Kiser, Operator Traffic 

Nancy Lester, Business Coordinator Facilies 

Mahew Marshall, Speedwell AHQ Operator 

Maintenance 

Brandy Miller, Environmental Planner 

Chris Musick, Equipment Repair Abingdon 

Tony Nuckolls, Speedwell AHQ Operator Maintenance 

James Phillips, Coeburn Sub‐AHQ Operator 

Maintenance 

James Roop, Operator Bridge Washington/Smyth 

counes 

Caleb Russell, N. Bristol AHQ Operator Maintenance 

Gabe Tolliver, Paonsville AHQ Operator Maintenance 

Olivia Ward, Ft. Blackmore AHQ Operator Maintenance 

Transfers, Promoons and Role Changes 

Albert Asbury, promoted to Springville AHQ Supt. 

Chrisna Arnold, promoted to HR Benefits Specialist 

Mark Arnold, transferred to Maintenance Operator 

Wytheville AHQ from Salem 

Christopher Bartley, promoted to Bridge Crew Leader 

Donald Andy Brewer, transferred to Speedwell AHQ 

Supv. 

Johnathan Bridgers, promoted to Bland AHQ Crew 

Leader Maintenance 

Tim Byington, tranferred to TOII Fort Blackmore AHQ 

Jeff Campbell, promoted to Fort Blackmore AHQ Supt. 

John Couch, promoted to Crew Leader Coeburn 

Sub‐AHQ 

Travis Deel, transferred to Sign Operator 

Tom Fisher, promoted to Glamorgan Maintenance 

Supv. 

Charles Gunter, transferred to Operator Bridge 

Ricky Henry, promoted to Crew Leader Maintenance 

Christopher Hicks, promoted to Ft. Blackmore Crew 


Jeremy Horton, promoted to crew leader Paonsville 

AHQ 

Johnny Ingle, promoted to Paonsville AHQ 

Maintenance Supv. 

Todd Jessee, promoted to Paonsville Maintenance 

Supt. 

Joseph Kadar, transferred to Contract Monitor Big 

Walker Mountain Tunnel 

Richard Lefler, promoted to Wytheville Maintenance 

Supt. 

Josh Lewis, transferred to Architect/Engineer II 

Hydraulics 

Mahew Lewis, transferred to Interstate Maintenance 

Operaons Mgr. 

Jacob Mangrum, promoted to Eng Tech Drill Crew 

Craig Mullins, promoted to Highpoint AHQ 


Michael Plaster, transferred to Operator Bridge 

Kelly Pritchard, promoted to Sr. HR Consultant 

James Robinson, promoted to Traffic Signal Supv. 

James Lane Shoemaker, Farm transferred to TOII Paonsville AHQ 

Tyler Shumate, promoted to Wytheville AHQ Crew 


Richard Trey Skeens, promoted to Wytheville 


McKinsey Taylor, promoted to Inspector Supervisor 

Bridge 

Jessica Wilson, transferred to Interstate Maintenance 

Office Business Coordinator 

Lois Woods, transferred to Lebanon Residency 

Business Administrator 

Reece Wya, transferred to Roadside Manager 

Patrick Yates, promoted to Big Rock AHQ Supv. 

Plum- 

The 

Repass 


7

Technician of The Year: 

Chris Harris 

Oakwood Shop Senior Equipment 

Technician ll Chris Harris has been 

named the Bristol District’s 2022 

AEMP Foundaon Technician of the 

Year. The annual award is presented 

to the individual who exemplifies the 

heavy equipment profession’s best 

technician. 

Harris has been employed with VDOT 

for more than four years. Before 

VDOT, Chris was employed for more 

than 18 years at Ford as a senior 

diagnosc diesel mechanic, and also 

spent three years as a diesel 

instructor at the Southwest Virginia 

Community College. 

Within his first two years at VDOT, 

Chris became a Tech ll by successfully 

acquiring all the relevant ASE 

cerficaons. Chris has been known 

at mes to go to other district shops 

to assist in diagnosc work. His 

supervisor, Dave Adams, shared 

examples of how Chris has saved 

VDOT and the public me and money 

by successfully diagnosing and 

addressing issues in a mely and 

fiscally responsible manner. 

Safety Spotlight: The Cold Stress Equation 

The Cold Stress Equaon: Low Temps + Wind Speed + Wetness = Injuries & 

Illness 

When the body is unable to warm itself, serious cold‐related illnesses may 

occur, and permanent ssue damage and death may result. Hypothermia 

and frostbite are two ways cold weather can have a negave impact on your 

health. 

Frostbite is an injury to body ssues caused by exposure to extreme cold, 

typically affecng the nose, fingers, or toes. 

Hypothermia is the condion of having an abnormally low body 

temperature, typically one that is dangerously low. 

For informaon on what to do when someone experiences hypothermia or 

frostbite, visit cdc.gov and search “hypothermia.” 

How to Protect Workers 

Learn the signs and symptoms of cold‐induced illnesses/injuries and 

what to do to help the worker. 

 

 

 

Recognize the environmental and workplace condions that lead to 

potenal cold‐induced illnesses and injuries. 

Select proper clothing for cold, wet and windy condions. Layer 

clothing to adjust to changing environmental temperatures. Wear a hat 

and gloves, in addion to underwear that will keep water away from 

the skin (polypropylene). 

Take frequent short breaks in warm, dry shelters to allow the body to 

warm up. 

Chris describes his hobbies as “Doing 

Mechanic Work.” He owns a garage 

in the 

community 

where he lives 

and the garage is 

usually busy with 

friends and 

family seeking 

his mechanical 

advice and in his 

own words, 

“watching me work.” 

 

 

 

Perform work during the warmest 

part of the day. 

Avoid exhauson or fague 

because energy is needed to keep 

muscles warm. 

Use the buddy system (work in 

pairs). 

Virginia Department of Transportation 

Bristol District - Office of Public Affairs 

2111 Bonham Road 

Bristol, VA 24201 

276-669-6151 

michelle.earl@VDOT.Virginia.gov

Bristol - On the Road - Oct-Dec 2022

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