Congratulations to new journeyman graduates

It's been a while since I've posted out here, and it's been a busy month. However, that is no excuse for not sharing through our blog format.

However, I got some news recently that I think is fantastic (and not just because I have to say that since I am a spokesperson for MoDOT.)

The I-64 project is about setting new methods of achieving goals, and looking for ways that we, as a community, can get the right things done. And though it may not be as celebrated as reopening half of the roadway on time, I think the I-64 team has just reached another important goal.

As you may remember, we helped train a number of socially or economically disadvantaged individuals in pre-apprentice programs and then get apprenticeship training on the I-64 project. The first five have completed their apprenticeships and are now journeymen (or should that be journeypersons...?) Although I didn't work through the construction industry, I was in the military, and I know how I felt after about four years of hard work when I officially completed an apprenticeship. These five people (two carpenters, a mason, and two laborers) have every reason to be proud of their efforts.

We have 12 more people who should complete their requirements for journeyman status before the end of the I-64 project. Congratulations to the recent journeyman graduates and good luck in the future!

You can read more at our website.

Andrew Gates

MoDOT response to recent St. Louis Post- Dispatch editorial

The Missouri Department of Transportation was recently criticized in an editorial in the St. Louis Post Dispatch about allowing a contractor to quality control the I-64 Design-Build construction process, with MoDOT oversight.

Pete Rahn, MoDOT Director, drafted a response to that editorial, which appeared in the paper on Aug. 7. You can read that response by clicking this link.