Tennessee Earns Top Recognition in the Southeast

Nashville, Tenn. – The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) is proud to announce that its team earned “Best Overall” in the Southeast Regional ROADEO Competition for the 10th time.

The ROADEO is an annual training and safety conference for heavy equipment operators. These front-line crews require expert skills to perform critical maintenance activities. This year’s ROADEO was held in Raleigh, North Carolina where DOTs from 12 southeastern states (AL, AR, KY, GA, FL, LA, MS, VA, NC, SC, WV, TN) competed for the top prize. Each obstacle course tests safety, accuracy, agility, and speed while operating heavy equipment.

TDOT’s team consisted of 14 representatives from all four regions. They advanced after scoring high marks in the state-level training over the summer. The heavy equipment includes the backhoe, single axle dump truck, tandem axle dump truck, skid steer, lowboy, tractor mower, and motor grader. The operators must perform exercises like picking up a golf ball with a backhoe and precisely placing it in a pipe, maneuvering a tight space in a timely manner without striking any cones, among other exercises, and this year they did it in the rain.

“All Tennesseans should take pride in the fact that we have some of the best heavy equipment operators in the Southeast,” said Governor Bill Lee. “Their mastery of the trade is evident in their work from clearing snow and ice to removing storm debris and making emergency repairs to our roads.”

“We emphasize continual training to ensure that our staff operates at the highest level to serve the motoring public,” said Deputy Governor and TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley. “We are extremely proud of these highly skilled men and women. Operating heavy equipment in all kinds of weather takes incredible talent and proficiency. This conference gives operators a chance to highlight their prowess all while learning best practices and enjoying some friendly competition with our fellow Southeastern states.”

Along with “Best Overall," TDOT operators won first and second place in the Single Axle Dump Truck and Skid Steer events.

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