MoDOT helps with hurricane recovery

Larry Dill and Patrick Turner left last week with five other volunteers for Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and began repairing about 2,800 damaged signals.

The volunteers took with them three bucket trucks, used to repair signals every day in Missouri, and a cargo trailer filled with supplies and equipment.

The crew is led by John Diggs, statewide traffic communications coordinator from Jefferson City. The four other volunteers are from St. Louis and Kansas City.

“We’ve had amazing cooperation within the department to get all the logistics put together on short notice, and I’m honored that we have volunteers that were willing to take time away from family to go down there,” said Rick Bennett, technical support engineer, in a news release.

Florida’s state government requested the aid through Missouri’s State Emergency Management Agency, and the agency will use federal funds to reimburse MoDOT for expenses on the trip. This is the first time the department has been asked to help with an out-of-state disaster.

The crew plans to return Wednesday.