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
40 Years of Service
James Hayes Abingdon AHQ
35 Years of Service
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
30 Years of Service
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
25 Years of Service
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
20 Years of Service
Richard Buckingham Locaon & Design
15 Years of Service
Robert Baker Construcon
Larry Hatcher Traffic Operaons
Tina Neal Administraon
Frankie O'Quinn Abingdon AHQ
10 Years of Service
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
5 Years of Service
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
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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)
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Bristol District: On The Road

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!
Bristol District: On The Road
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.
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Bristol District: On The Road

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,
30 Years of Service
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
Leader Maintenance
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
Maintenance Supv.
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
Leader Maintenance
Richard Trey Skeens, promoted to Wytheville
Maintenance Supv.
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
Bristol District: On The Road
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