WILSON – Almost 100 state highway workers in Division 4 sharpened their driving skills using heavy equipment in Wilson this week.
They participated in the Equipment Operator Safety 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 maneuvered large trucks and other equipment, such as motor graders and a crane, through several obstacle courses that required careful 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 Wednesday event – informally is known as a “roadeo” – gives NCDOT employees the opportunity to train in a safe, controlled environment away from public traffic. They also compete among one another based on how they score doing each event.
The Division 4 employees who competed are assigned to maintenance, bridge, equipment and traffic services.
Below are the winners who will compete across the department in the statewide conference in June in Raleigh:
- Tractor-Mower: Donald Wooten, Wilson Bridge
- Backhoe: Clifton Jenkins, Wilson Maintenance
- Motor grader: Dan Evans, Nash Maintenance
- Skid Steer: Marvin Jones, Nash Maintenance
- Crane: James Holmes, Johnston Bridge
- Lowboy Truck: Hector Berrios, Johnston Equipment
- Tandem Axle Truck: Donnie Taylor, Johnston Bridge
- Single Axle Truck: Isaac Ethridge, Wilson Maintenance
- Traffic Services: Greg Beamon, Traffic Services
