Traffic tie-ups during construction work are childhood memories treasured by Mary Eagan of Wappingers Falls.
“While my father fumed at delays, I peered out the window fascinated by the work in progress,” the certified highway construction inspector recalled.
As a young businesswoman, Eagan did payrolls for a construction company, delivering checks on site. “I loved the activity that I saw,” she said.
She met her mentor during subsequent employment by the builder of a Wappingers mall. “The New York State Department of Transportation must approve all highway work in connection with these malls,” she said. “While watching the contractor install new traffic signals, I said to the inspector, ”˜I”™d like to learn to do your job.”™
“He directed me to the (DOT”™s) Equal Opportunity Division. Every construction site must have a minority or woman trainee. I got hired in l995 by a consultant as a highway inspector trainee for Route 55 reconstruction in Poughkeepsie.”
Eagan proved an apt student. She took her first test after a year and emerged as a level II inspector. Her jobs have taken her to Yonkers, Yorktown, the Taconic Parkway at Miller Hill Road and other locations. She has since obtained level III rating and is working for a consultant on the state Thruway project in Newburgh, where ramps will connect Interstate 84 to the Thruway I-87.
“It”™s in my blood,” she said. “After World War II, my grandfather, Frank Carlon, was the engineer in charge of the construction of the Taconic State Parkway in Dutchess and Columbia counties.”
Eagan has good and bad days on the job. “One of the worst came while I was still a trainee on the Route 55 job. It was 3:15 p.m., 15 minutes before my quitting time,” she recalled. “A tree being cut toppled down the electric wires in the vicinity. I saw a big ball of fire and then a wire snaking in the road. I screamed for the flagman to get out of the way, closed the road and phoned, ”˜I need my boss, Central Hudson, the police, the fire department and God out here.”™”
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Route 55 work provided Eagan with her happiest moment on the job. “A passenger car startled us by driving into the middle of our construction project,” she said. “The driver”™s wife was about to have a baby. The baby arrived before the ambulance. As the woman was led from the car after giving birth, the entire construction crew applauded her.”
Eagan has been able to view changes in the highway construction field while an inspector. “There is more erosion control, attention to wetlands, and proper message boards and warning signs for the motoring public.
“Safety is my particular concern. All work zones should be safe, using approved materials and equipment, before workers are allowed to begin their designated projects. I want to make sure all the workers go home to their families each night.”
Bridges, guard rails, drainage and asphalt inspection come under the inspector”™s watchful eye, including soil compaction and concrete testing during construction.
“I started my career at age 42,” she said. “Anything is possible at any time in life as long as you love what you are doing.”
The highway construction inspector is married to Vincent M. Eagan, executive salesman at Bottini Fuel. They live in his family”™s Federal-style home overlooking the Wappingers Creek. She has two grown children by a former marriage, Jessica a North Carolina career woman, and Peter, a partner in a Texas firm.
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Challenging Careers focuses on the exciting and unusual business lives of Hudson Valley residents. Comments or suggestions may be emailed to Catherine Portman-Laux at cplaux@optonline.net.
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