Gov. Terry Branstad joined Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds in Ames on June 16 for the Iowa Department of Transportation’s employee memorial dedication.

Branstad stood in front of the newly finished memorial to 36 DOT employees who lost their lives while on the job. He urged people to drive safely to avoid any more injuries and deaths to those who work for the DOT.

“Nothing is more important than the safety of the men and women who show up to work every single day to make sure that those traveling through Iowa get where they need to go,” said Paul Trombino, Iowa DOT director.

Trombino said the DOT’s greatest asset is its employees, and the department works everyday to make them safer.

“Collectively, our greatest accomplishment going forward as one DOT team would be that we never add another name to this memorial,” Trombino said.

Reynolds said transportation plays a role in everything we do and that most people do not understand the dangers that DOT employees face everyday.

The memorial used to be a small hill with trees planted on it that was not very usable, said Annette Dunn, director of support services for the Iowa DOT. The new memorial mimics the Iowa DOT logo.

Branstad said 20,000 workers are injured in construction zones each year in the United States and that even though a lot has been done through safety standards, there is still more work to be done.

“As motorists, we can do our part by making sure that we avoid distractions behind the wheel and that we do not take our attention off the road,” Branstad said.