The Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service has been selected by the Texas Department of Transportation to train the agency’s employees across the state. TEEX instructors will provide training in environmental, health & safety, transportation, heavy equipment, traffic operations, and utilities through a three-year, $4.6 million contract.
TEEX will be providing instruction in 47 different courses that are part of the TxDOT course catalog. Courses will include Roadway Design and Highway Safety, Heavy Equipment, Environmental, Health and Safety, Flaggers in Work Zones, Excavation Safety, and Confined Space Safety, said Transportation/Highway Safety and Heavy Equipment Training Manager Kathy Stone with TEEX’s Infrastructure Training and Safety Institute. The classes will be held at TxDOT District offices throughout the state.
The safety of TxDOT workers and motorists is a vital concern. TxDOT has as many as 2,500 active work zones at any given time, and there were more than 27,000 work zone crashes in Texas in 2017.
“The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that working on or near the roadway next to live traffic is an extremely hazardous job,” said Jerry Ullman, senior research engineer and a national work zone safety expert at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. “Receiving high-quality training on proper procedures and how to protect oneself while working can mean the difference between going home at the end of the day or not.”
TEEX has provided training to TxDOT employees since 1969, Stone said. “We value the relationships we have built with TxDOT in recent years, and are pleased to continue to be a preferred training provider. Strong customer relations and dedicated instructors have made this program successful and beneficial to both the transportation workers in our state and the traveling public.”
For more information, call (979) 458-6837
