TxDOT districts awarded for clean safety record

By Heather Deaton and Ryan LaFontaine

ATLANTA, Texas — Safety at TxDOT is paramount. It is practiced and preached consistently at each of the agency’s 25 districts across the state.

Several TxDOT districts were recently honored with the Texas Bluebonnet Safety Award, given to organizations taking steps to proactively lower employee incident rates to zero. The program compares the agency’s safety record with other comparable entities.

TxDOT’s Atlanta, Abilene, Brownwood, Lubbock, Pharr, San Angelo, San Antonio, and Wichita Falls districts were all recognized for achieving zero incidents for the entire year.  

“Safety is our mission each and every day at work,” said Atlanta District Engineer Rebecca Wells.

Mission Zero, TxDOT’s goal to operate with zero injuries or incidents, has been the agency’s guiding light for years.

“Everything we do at TxDOT is done with safety in mind, and we are extremely proud of all of our districts that achieved zero incidents,” said Sam Salazar, director of TxDOT’s occupational safety division. “Whether we’re in the office or out in the field, we’re making safety a habit.”

Under the Mission Zero initiative, TxDOT employees learn to make safety intentional every minute of every day. Employees are urged to call a safety timeout when needed, communicate safe practices to others and seek out hazards to reduce or eliminate.

The Atlanta District worked all of 2024 with no injuries, no incidents and no lost time.

“It is our expectation and our goal every single year as we carry out our extensive workload,” Wells said. “Getting home at the end of every day to our families is priority one.”