Fallen highway construction, maintenance workers honored at Caltrans memorial
The more than 1,000 attendees of the California Department of Transportation’s 36th annual workers memorial Thursday could not miss the 195 traffic cones placed in a diamond shape in the middle of the event.
“It brings out a whole new meaning when you see those cones,” Caltrans District 4 supervisor Chris Rauschkolb, 49, said to a coworker as they watched the ceremony in West Sacramento.
“It makes you want to be more aware and alert of your surroundings,” the coworker, Carlos Mendez, 38, said.
The cones, draped in black paper ribbons, represent every Caltrans highway maintenance and construction worker who died on the job since 1921. Some workers were killed by motorists passing through construction sites, while others died in shootings or were struck by equipment at work sites, according to Caltrans.
All 195 workers were honored Thursday at River Walk Park, where a Caltrans spokesperson said more than 1,000 workers, family members and community leaders attended to pay their respects. The event, which featured speakers, musical performances and the Caltrans Honor Guard, was intended to both honor those who died and remind the public of the dangerous conditions — including fast-moving and distracted motorists — that workers face daily.
In 2021, more than 9,500 collisions occurred in California highway work zones, resulting in just under 3,000 injuries and more than 70 deaths, according to Caltrans.
The memorial also allowed workers to reconnect. Although the ceremony was somber, in the minutes leading up to it, music played and people dressed in orange, bright yellow and black exchanged hugs and laughs. Mark Poole, a Caltrans worker for more than 20 years, said he reunited with some buddies he hadn’t seen in 10 years.
“We all come together once a year,” Poole said, adding he hopes attendees outside of Caltrans were able to see their camaraderie. “We just enjoy each other’s company.”
For this year’s memorial, one more orange traffic cone was added to the diamond formation to represent the loss of Mahdi Khorram, a transportation engineer for District 4, which is responsible for roadways in the Bay Area.
Khorram was struck and killed Sept. 18, 2025, by an asphalt truck at a worksite on Highway 4 in Contra Costa County. He was a construction inspector for the project and had been working for Caltrans since 2023, according to a statement issued by Governor Gavin Newsom. He died three days short of his 40th birthday.
California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health is investigating the death and has issued Caltrans a $22,500 penalty for a violation, though the department contested the decision last month, according to Cal-OSHA.
Dina El-Tawansy, director of the state agency, described Khorram as a leader who received high praise from his coworkers and was a beloved father to a 3-year-old daughter.
“Mahdi left us ... too soon, but his commitment to public service, his hunger to learn and grow and unwavering dedication is an example that all of us should follow,” El-Tawansy said during her speech. “That’s truly what today is all about. It’s not just to remember those that we have lost, but keeping alive the legacy of whom we were and our promise to do more to keep our workers safe today.”
Caltrans made a pledge in 2022 to eliminate all fatalities and serious injuries on state highways by 2050.
Some speakers, including Assemblymember and Assembly Transportation Committee chair Lori Wilson, D-Suisun City, pointed to how external factors, such as legislation, can help to better protect Caltrans workers. Assembly Bill 289, passed last year and signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October, allows Caltrans to install fixed cameras to detect and cite motorists speeding through construction sites, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The families of workers who had died were given special attention throughout the event, including seats near the cone formation and a lunch after the ceremony. Christine Thome, 79, lost her husband Juan John Thome in 1993. As she sat down to lunch, the black paper ribbon bearing her husband’s name rested on her table. It was filled with orange roses provided by Caltrans.
Thome said her husband was buried in a Caltrans shirt.
“He would wear his Caltrans clothes everywhere he went,” she said. “People said, ‘why don’t you put him in a suit?’ and I said, ‘Have you ever seen my husband in anything else?’”
Thome, who wore a hat covered in Caltrans memorial event pins, said she had attended the event more than 30 times. This year, she said she appreciated looking out over the “sea of orange” of the other workers and feeling the support of other families who had experienced similar tragedies.
“This is our memories, our legacy,” she said, tearing up. “Why do we come? It’s a part of my heart.”
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This story was originally published April 24, 2026 at 9:36 AM with the headline "Fallen highway construction, maintenance workers honored at Caltrans memorial."
