Highway Division 4 holds annual event in Wilson
WILSON – Almost 100 state highway workers in Division 4 honed their skills operating heavy equipment in a friendly competition this week in Wilson.
They participated in the Equipment Operator Training Conference at the Wilson County maintenance yard for the N.C. Department of Transportation. The employees work in Division 4, which is based in Wilson and also covers Edgecombe, Halifax, Johnston, Nash and Wayne counties.
They navigated large trucks and other equipment, such as motor graders and cranes, through several obstacle courses that required deft precision. One of the competitions involved an operator who manipulated the arm and boom of a backhoe tractor to drop golf balls into a tube.
The annual event, which informally is known as a “roadeo”, is meant to sharpen the employees’ driving skills in a controlled environment away from public traffic, so they can more safely operate the heavy machinery in real conditions throughout the year. They also compete among one another based on how they score doing each event.
Several units of Division 4 were involved in making this year’s event a success, and Melvin Mitchell, the area’s representative on the N.C. Board of Transportation, joined Division 4 Engineer Keith Eason in addressing and observing the employees at the event on Wednesday.
The winners from each event will represent Division 4 at the statewide conference in Raleigh June 20-21:
- Lowboy Truck Exercise: Wayne Boone, Wayne Maintenance
- Single Axle Truck Exercise: Cliff Jenkins*, Wilson Maintenance
- Motor Grader Truck Exercise: Dan Evans, Nash Maintenance
- Tractor- Mower Exercise: Marvin Jones, Nash Maintenance
- Backhoe Exercise: Cliff Jenkins, Wilson Maintenance
- Tandem Axle Truck Exercise: Jackson Waddell, Wilson Maintenance
- Boom Truck (Crane) Exercise: James Holmes, Johnston Bridge
- Traffic Services Exercise: Wesley Johnson, Division 4 Traffic Services
Thomas Deloach, second place in the Single Axle Truck Exercise, will compete at the state conference in place of Jenkins.
Maybe someone can teach this generation some real road building skills because I built better roads for my matchbox cars in my yard when I was a child which is sad to say given all the new technologies and techniques handed down. Uneven, bumpy and full of unessesary dips from poor grading and packing. It’s really unfair to motorists who don’t want their vehicles destroyed from commuting back and forth to their jobs and so forth.
So true Doesn’t Matter. Me to with the Matchbox and Hot wheels. 🙂 By the way, who cares about news like this???? I sure don’t!
Steve S if you don’t care about the article, why comment about it?
@Doesn’tMatter: Although NCDOT oversees the roads and projects, the actual work is performed by individual contractors. The NC Legislature requires that contracts be awarded to the lowest bidder. If you want better workers, be prepared to pay more! #YouGetWhatYoyPayFor #VoteOutIncumbents
Is this where one person works and 15 stand around and watch?