July TxDOT Highway Letting Dates

The Texas Department of Transportation has scheduled its next highway letting for July 8 and 9. Ninety projects are approved to be let with an estimated total of $593,173,079.

A TxDOT report in April said projects may be added, advanced or delayed as deemed necessary.

Give Them a Brake

Texas reported 192 highway work-zone fatalities in 2002, up from 140 in 2001. The figures were released during the National Work Zone Awareness Week in April.

"We are striving to lower this troubling statistic by developing additional safety measures and supporting research dealing with work zones," said Mike Behrens, TxDOT's executive director. "We hope motorists will do their part to increase safety."

In recent years, highway work zones have been improved through the use of plastic construction barrels, signs and barricades, which are designed to reduce vehicle damage and potential driver injury when hit by a vehicle. Portable concrete barriers and crash cushions also protect drivers from dangers such as steep drop-offs and construction equipment, and they protect workers from traffic.

TxDOT workers are wearing new safety vests with fluorescent reflective material all the way around, rather than just the front and back. The vests increase the visibility of the flaggers and maintenance crews. The department has also begun using prismatic fluorescent orange coloring on all work-zone signs and safety devices in all new highway work zones.

Texas, which has recorded the nation's most work-zone fatalities since 1994, was followed in 2002 by California (119), Georgia (118) and Florida (87).

Roadway construction zone-related fatalities have increased 70 percent since 1997, according to federal data recently posted at the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse. The data, compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, show that 1,181 people died in roadway construction zones in 2002, an increase of 102 deaths compared to 2001 figures.

Halliburton and KBR Release Statement on Iraq Situation

Houston-based Halliburton and its engineering and construction group, Kellogg Brown & Root, released the following statement after the confirmation that three bodies were positively identified after an attack on a transportation convoy in April in Iraq:

"It is with our heartfelt sympathy that we confirm the death of three KBR colleagues working in Iraq as transportation personnel for the LOGCAP III project. Our co-workers, Stephen Hulett, 48, of Manistee, Mich.; Jack Montague, 52, of Pittsburg, Ill.; and Jeffery Parker, 45, of Lake Charles, La., were brave hearts without medals, humanitarians without parades and heroes without statues.

"Once Iraq is rebuilt, as it will be, it will be a living testament to the tenacity, courage and sacrifice of these employees.

"We grieve today for the tragic and sudden loss of our co-workers. Halliburton extends its sincere condolences to the families of these employees. This is a very difficult time for the Halliburton family.

"There is no road map for something like this and we are doing everything we can to assist the families as well as our employees to cope with this huge tragedy. The passing of these brave men leaves a void in our hearts and in the organization that will be difficult to fill.

"Also, we at Halliburton and KBR remain prayerful for the families of our four other missing employees.

"Civilian contractors work side-by-side with the military and Iraqi people. Our work is difficult and in a dangerous environment, and Halliburton and its subcontractors have lost 33 personnel while performing services under our contracts in the Kuwait-Iraq region.

"To protect the privacy of the employees' families, we will not release additional information at this time. We strongly urge you to respect the privacy of the families during this difficult situation. We are monitoring the current situation in Iraq and continue to work closely with coalition authorities regarding the safety and security of all our personnel in the region, but it would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this time.

"We will continue to update the company's Web site at www.halliburton.com with any new developments on our missing employees in Iraq."

Plains All American Pipeline LP, through its Houston-based subsidiary Plains Pipeline LP, recently announced that it signed a pipeline transportation service agreement with Coffeyville Resources Refining & Marketing LLC.

Plains Pipeline will construct, own and operate a 100-mi., 16-in. pipeline that will transport crude oil from the company's terminal in Cushing, Okla., to Caney, Kan., where it will connect to an existing third-party pipeline that will transport crude oil to CRRM's refinery in Coffeyville, Kan. The expected cost for the project is approximately $33 million.