MDOT Presents

the Extra Mile podcast.

Welcome into another edition
of the Extra Mile

podcast presented by the Mississippi
Department of Transportation.

I'm Paul Katool And as always,
joined by my co-host Will Craft and Will,

we're in the midst of the most important
week of the year here at Mdot.

This is a national Work Zone
Awareness Week.

And with that in mind,
we have the perfect guest,

public Information Officer
Michael Flood, aka

Mikey, aka mike aka highway Mike.

There you go.

He's here to talk about Work
Zone Awareness

Week, and we're also going to have
a little bit of fun with him.

Mike, I know you've wanted to
get on the show for a while, so welcome.

Thanks for joining us. Yes.

Can I just say before we start,
I am the biggest Extra Mile podcast fan,

not only at Mdot but in the state.

I listen to every single episode.

The one y'all did with Nick Lewis last
week was awesome, learned a whole lot.

And that's the best part to show
you learn.

I mean, you really learn a lot about
not just Mdot,

but how, you know, things get funded, how
the legislature works,

you know, very important podcasts
love being a part of it.

And I want to say on the record,
if either of you all have to leave

to do another opportunity,
God forbid, pass away anything like that,

I want to be in my hat, in the ring
for the next host, maybe even guest host

one day, you know,
you just let me know. No, no. All right.

He's throwing it out on the recording.

Next episode featuring guest host
Mikey Flood.

No doubt working hard for that pay raise.

Y'all hear him? Love it.

Catch him. Got him to commit
on the record. So it's crazy.

He just trapped us here on the show.

No. It's awesome. Love it. Hey,

listen.

So you've all.

You've been at Mdot for quite some time.

I think you're the second most tenured
person in the public affairs division.

So kind of briefly
take us through your career here.

What led you to kind of
what you're doing here today?

Yeah. Well,
I always wanted to be a writer.

Growing up, I knew that that
that was what I wanted to do.

So I started out at Ole
Miss as a journalism major.

After a little while there,
I decided to transfer to

to Southern Miss and Hazebrouck.

So we got both the all schools covered
to really reform my band smooth that.

We're band in high school
and but it also made me

appreciate the communications department
and became a comms major.

So after graduating there, interviewed
with Kerry Adams.

Here she was the public affairs director.

Then shout out, Kerry,
thank you for hiring me.

I started out really just making
ten bucks an hour, just kind of helping

write press releases
and do all that kind of stuff,

you know,
really been the writing department

and then worked my way up to covering,
you know, being a Po for district seven,

which is one of our smaller districts
in southwest Mississippi,

eventually ended up covering district six,
which is the bigger of those two,

so covered the Southern District
and worked for Commissioner Tom King.

And then around 2015 or so, I ended up

moving up to the Central District,
which has our biggest media market here.

That's districts three and five.

So of course, Commissioner Dick
Hall worked for him during that time.

And he ended up, you know,

kind of picking me out to be
his final assistant for his final term,

which was like the best job opportunity
to ever learn so much from him.

And, you know, just working for him
for his final term was was an honor.

I'll never forget it.

And fortunately,

I was able to come back to public affairs
and continue doing my favorite job.

So happy to be back here.

That's kind of how I got to where I am.

And now I'm Central District

covered the Central District and,
you know, a lot of divisions as well.

In addition

to the district and Commissioner's office,
bridge divisions, a big one to work with

and all pre-construction divisions,
including right of way planning,

state surveys, hydraulics
and a few other divisions.

But my most important campaign
is working on Awareness Week.

That is the biggest one.

That of the year
is the one that's closest to my heart.

You know, it's the most important one
I do here and I'm happy

to be associated with.

So that's why we're here today
I believe. Yeah, yeah.

No doubt kicking that off.
Perfect segue for you.

You nailed it there.

No doubt. Certainly. Back up.

Just a hair there.

Definitely jealous of the time that
you got to spend in Commissioners Hall.

Commissioner Hall's office,
working closely with him.

I know that was a lot of fun,
but also a lot of great learning

experience in time there.

Both of those are true.

Yes. No doubt.

Shout out to to Commissioner Hall.

There we R.I.P. no doubt.

Yep. And another thing you mentioned
a lot of the areas that you cover.

Certainly a lot of different things
going on them dot you get visibility

and all kinds of different divisions
and different work going on.

But one, as
you said, one of the most important things

you get to cover
is this National Work Zone Awareness Week.

And we kicked that off this year.

Give us the give us the rundown on
what's going on with with Work Zone week

this week.

Yeah. So it's work Zone Awareness Week.

And as you notice the temperatures outside
are warming up a little chilly today.

But overall they're warming up.

So that means

we're going to have a lot more,
you know, maintenance crews out there.

Of course
construction is going to be going on.

You know you can't pave unless it's
a, you know, consistently warm temps.

So you're going to see paving.

You're going to see mowing crews,
you're going to see construction crews.

So we really take this time
every April really

to get the word out there
to remind everyone about works on safety.

And it's so important
because it affects everyone.

Us as drivers and Mdot workers, you know,
85% of the fatalities in the works

are over 85% actually are to the drivers
or to the passenger in their car.

So it's not only important

for our Mdot workers to keep safe,
but it's also to keep the driver safe.

I know that's our number one
goal of safety.

So it's a it's
the most important week of the year.

And we want everyone
to really keep in mind that you're going

to be seeing a lot more orange barrels,
a lot more crews working.

So please keep an eye out for them.

Distracted driving is at an all time high.

Cell phone use is at an all time high.

You know, and these frontline workers,
you know, we get to work with them a lot.

Being a Pio, I get to hang out with them
and talk to them and really cover

what they do daily.
And you really get to know them.

So they are the hardest working
frontline workers in the state,

you know, not to mention, you know,
when we have an ice storm come through,

they're not sitting,

you know, by the fire staying warm
when we have a hurricane come through.

They're not hunkered down.

They're out on these roads
working to clear them and keep them safe.

So we must work to keep them safe
and ourselves safe.

And that's why this week is so important.

And thank you all for having me here
to talk about it.

Yeah, absolutely.

There's a lot going on.

Obviously, throughout the week
we'll have different little miniature

sort of events with with staff internally

and try and keep pushing the word out
externally obviously to, to everywhere.

But I think one important thing you said
right then you hit the nail on the head.

I mean, it's been a really good few years
as far as funding and projects

and legislative involvement,
and we do have a lot more going on,

a lot more projects out there.

And it's a it's a positive thing,
no doubt about it.

But with that does come that
risk, right?

We've got more work
zones out there, more areas that are

the geometry is changing,
the roadway is different.

Maybe you've been driving that route
for 40 years.

30 years. That's right.

All of a sudden
it is going to be a little different.

We we get that.
We absolutely do. Just be.

Please be patient with us
and look up, put down the phone.

And at the at the risk of sounding a bit
hypocritical,

like, I get it, you know, put the phone
down, don't don't mess with the radio.

The kids are going to be screaming
in the background. Absolutely.

When you hit the work
zones, please, please take a look.

Something that sticks out to me, I guess.

You know, there's lots of jobs
that when you sign up for it,

when you go down that career path,
you know that every day is essentially a

could be you putting your life online.

I think of, you know, military
and like first responders

for like police force or firefighters
or things like that.

And I don't know that that it really often
gets thought about or included in that.

But you think about our frontline folks
that are out there.

I mean,
it is genuinely one of those careers

that you're putting your life on the line
every day.

And it's sad to say, you know, it's it
doesn't seem like it should be that way.

We're going to work on the highway,

you know, we're going to use
heavy machinery, working on stuff.

You know,
nobody should be shooting at us or,

you know, any type of danger
like that necessarily.

But what we know is those those elements
don't necessarily have to be there for it

to be so dangerous. And,
you know, work zones.

Again, I don't know that it gets thought

about necessarily
such a dangerous place to be.

But we'll get into a little bit
more of this here,

specifically with the video
that that Mike shot last week.

It gives you a really good look at just
how close some of those cars are

and coming
by as you're working in those work zones.

But with that.

Yeah.

Mike, what about the
I think you got a video out right now.

We sure do.

Yeah. Just dropped
new vid just dropped. That's right.

And you know,
I got to think these two were out there

with me, as was Drew Hall,
our producer here.

And Roy Atkins.

So couldn't have got
got it done without you guys. Will you?

You organized
getting that big desk out there.

And even Brenton picked up the truck

to get the desk out there,
which was not an easy feat.

So I think you all can attest being out
there was terrifying.

Having to pull over and shoot
that video was absolutely terrifying

and kind of mind blowing that, you know,
that that's what our guys are inside.

That's the environment
they're in every day.

DeMarcus Jackson as well.

Shout out to him. He helped.

He was one of our frontline workers

that was out there
and was in the video with us.

So it is you know it's
kind of a tongue in cheek you know, video.

You know,

we did one similar about ten years ago
with our chief engineer Brian Ratliff.

This one's a
and I was the extra in that video.

I got to drive by in the car.

So I appreciate
y'all upgrading me to star status.

And let me start on this one.

But this one I think is very well done.

And hopefully it gets the point across
that these guys that is their office,

they're you know, they're working
in these environments every day.

I mean, I mean, literally feet away
from interstate traffic

is really something that the wind
from their vehicles basically.

I mean, it will knock you over.

It's how it's it's just I mean,
it's disorienting to and pulling out

and getting back on to the interstate
and work zones is terrifying.

And, you know,

I work with a lot of reporters
and I'm very concerned for them anytime.

I always try and shift their focus

from getting inside of work zones
to getting to somewhere safe,

you know, whether it be off an exit where
you can see the work zone, it's just

a very dangerous environment to be in,
especially in tight quarters, you know.

So yeah, it works on crashes.

They they do keep going up

unfortunately because distracted driving
is such an at such an all time high.

Yeah.

You just mentioned, you know
talking about the different aspects,

you know, for the drivers
as well as us working on people

and obviously yeah, you know 85%
plus those crashes do impact the driver.

What can Mississippians do.

I know there's probably not a

a hard
and fast one, two, three things maybe.

But I'm sure there are some tips
and pointers out there.

So glad you asked Will.

I got those ready for us.

The most important thing you can do
is pay attention.

You know, I know we keep mentioning
cell phone use and distracted driving.

You should always
keep your eyes on the road.

It's especially important in work zones.

And be aware of all the signage.

You know you're not just paying attention
for barrels and roadside workers,

but there's also warning signage

that will have important information
as you're entering this work zone.

And if you miss that,
I mean, you're setting yourself back.

So avoid distractions. Slow down.

You know, a lot of these lane closures,
you know, there's traffic pattern shifts.

There's reduced
speeds and common work zones.

So make sure you slow down
when you're entering the work zone.

Move into an open lane.

Keep your distance
between the vehicle in front of you

so you'll have plenty of time to stop
if you have to, and research a route

you know, if we have a closure in place,
check

Mdot traffic com check at Mississippi
Dot on social media.

That way you'll know about it,
you can avoid it,

or you'll know to expect it
and you can leave a little earlier.

Excellent, excellent.

Well, listen.

Work zone awareness week, very important.

Like Mike just said, we're going
to have content events all week long.

Check out our social media
at Mississippi Tot Facebook

X Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube.

We have everything for sure. And listen.

So let's let's shift things a little bit.

So we mentioned earlier
you are the Central District

transportation, Central District
public information officer.

We're promoting you there for a second.

But sweet.

Thank you.

But there's a lot of work going on
like you mentioned.

So do you want to kind of briefly
go through some of the major projects?

Absolutely. Yes.

We did just complete the highway 82
Greenville bypass last year.

It is open now for travel.

It's a 16 mile, four lane highway
that alleviates traffic around

Greenville and Leland.

You know, it takes a lot of hazardous,
hazardous material that these big trucks

are hauling from the port.

They are off of our smaller roads
in the communities there.

So shout out to that project.
We're all very proud of that one.

And happened to get that one
opened up here in central Mississippi.

We've got on I-20.

There's a lot of work going on right now,
and brace yourself for more.

There's
going to be a lot more coming up on I-20,

but in Warren County,
we've got a project to repair six bridges.

It's underway now from the Big Black River
to the Hinds County line.

So they are making good progress on that,
and I'm happy to report there are

they are still on track to wrap that up
this year, later this year.

So and this is one of those areas
where we really need to cut back

on distracted driving.

Late last year we saw a lot of accidents
occur due to distracted driving.

And so we increased our signage,
our warning signage.

We increased blue light presence.

You know, we have a tow truck out there.

Should there be any kind of minor
fender bender to help clear up that area?

The problem with that

stretch is it's there's not much space
off of the interstate to maneuver.

Should you have an issue,
you know, whether it be a fender bender

or a major accident
involving an 18 Wheeler, God forbid.

I mean,
there is a very small amount of space.

So it's really important
to keep your guard up there.

And this year, we've seen an improvement
since we implemented these

additional measures.

So we want to keep that flowing
smoothly there.

It's a very important corridor.

You know in in Jackson here
we've got the flyover bridge

that's you know
they're making a lot of progress on that.

You know, that should be completed soon
this spring I'm told.

And you know, that is part of the I-55
bridge preservation project

over the Pearl River last year that we,
you know, we we updated those bridge decks

on those big bridges over the pearl.

And just on the eastern side of the state,
we've got an expansion of highway

19 in the county.

That project is going very well.

We're updating State Route
19 from 2 to 4 lanes from House to Tucker.

So that's a nearly $100 million project.

And it's got a completion date
of spring 2028.

So if everyone can just drive safely
through these work zones

and everything else,

we'll be able to make these completion
dates on time and get you home safely.

Amen.

Amazing, amazing.

So we
we just heard from highway Mike. Yes.

He gave us a ton of good information.

Now we're going to hear from Mikey
for the fun question.

All right.

Alter ego. Yes.

Why don't you kick a sock off here?

Absolutely.

So we do want to include
our two fun questions and then come back

right at the end
here on a little more serious note.

But before we do get to that,

as the number one podcast fan,
you know what we're about to do.

I'm ready. We like to eat.
We like to listen to music.

I will steal the food question from you
or for us today, Paul.

So as you as you're
getting around the state, man,

is there a spot that you just don't
get to get to often?

Anytime you're gonna be in that neck of
the woods, you're like, we're going here.

Yes, I,
I've been waiting for this question.

I've wanted to come on here
just to just to mention this place.

It is probably the most low key place
you can find in the state.

It's only open Friday

and Saturday nights between 5 and 9 p.m.,
but it is the best food I've ever had.

Hands down.

It is in Bolton, Mississippi,
a little place called TCB Town Steakhouse.

That's TCB Town
Steakhouse. It's unbelievable.

I've only been there one time,

you know, because the hours
and with having a baby now.

But yes, I highly recommend
if you can get a sitter,

make your way out there
whether you have kids or not.

And it's just it's amazing
if you're talking about,

you know, just a family at night,
you know,

bringing the family at my

go to place and I live in Jackson, so
my go to place is probably I think I eat.

It took to move the most because they've
got such a diverse range of food.

I'm sure someone's mentioned
that one already by now, but you know,

and if you don't have the family, Foxtail
and Madison is really good.

If you're going to see a movie
or something like that hot date night,

you know, go by there.

It's nice light food, so you can go out
and do whatever you want to do afterwards.

But one of those two places or TCB Town
Steakhouse, all very good.

Yeah. Excellent. Yeah,

man. Yeah.

No, I would say that Bolton reference
there is going to be one for the books

because I don't think we've
we've got some great suggestions on here,

but that is definitely remote right there.

I wish it was open for lunch
so I could take drew here.

And David, they're always looking
for good lunch spots.

And every time we travel
we always find the coolest spot to eat.

But I wish they were there for lunch.

But maybe one day they'll be able to

if we can get some more people to go
by there, they can expand their hours.

So good.

Well, we'll have to get you guys up there
on a night work.

Probably somewhere down
you can swing by just right off of 20.

So. Yeah, I'm
sure we could arrange that. Yeah.

Excellent. Love it, love it. Yeah,
I think the.

Yeah. Three new answers.

So good stuff, Mikey.

And, hey, listen,
I know you're waiting for this question.

So the mother of them
all, the answer of them all music.

So is there a concert perhaps,
that you've been to back in the day

or even maybe recently that just
sticks out as your all time favorite? Yes.

No secret I'm a giant fish
head, for better or worse.

Big fish fan.

And if you if

my voice sounds a little rough today, it's
because I just got back from the sphere.

Seeing them out there for the first time,
Paul recommended

I go out there
after you saw the dead and go there.

So I went

and saw three nights of fish out there,
somehow made it to the third night.

We extended our stay.

After seeing the first two,
we had to catch the third night,

and that third night was the best
concert experience I've ever had.

Still glowing
and still just cup is so full from it.

You know?

It's very expensive, but highly recommend
going out to the sphere.

Before this weekend,
I would have to say my favorite concert

was my first fish concert
in 2003, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

My brother took myself and my best friend
and that was quite an experience.

But so it's been what,
you know, whatever, 23 years since then.

So I'm ashamed to say how many shows
I've seen, but no, you got to mention it.

Next question.

I think we're in the mid 80s about 86,
but I don't I mean, I can retire

after the sphere concert Saturday night.

It's
I mean, it won't get any better than that.

Set the bar pretty high.

It really did.

I can die happy. Yeah.

I do want to get out there for some show
at some point.

Eventually, every video clip
I see just looks crazy,

like on the side of a mountain
or something.

You know, they're a weird band.

They they do not repeat, you know, a show.

So, you know,
they're the only band they created.

They're playing nine nights.

It's all new content all nine nights,
you know, no

repeat visual, no repeat song.

You know, that's just what they do.

So that's why they jam long.

And that's why you see them
because of their explosive jams.

But yes, I recommend we're going
to get you all to a fish show one day.

I know Nick Lewis,
the our legislative prodigy.

I know we're talking about
getting him to the next one.

So and Paul has been
I know we're going to get you to one soon.

Will you'll be next. Oh, yeah.
And you know.

Yeah a lot of fun.

So yeah. Just love being here.

This is just an honor.
Thank y'all. Yeah I appreciate that.

Absolutely excellent answers.

Spot on I think. Right. Yeah. You sold.

You're selling us hard on the on fish
and the sphere.

There's no doubt one day. One day.

Hey, you got it.

You got to go.
If you can go to the sphere, gotta go.

Glad you were able to experience.

And thanks for sending videos all weekend.

Of course we were.

Living vicariously through you is awesome.

But seriously Mikey, overall great guy.

Michael Flood, thanks for joining us and
coming on the show and we'll mention it.

We are going to get a little bit serious
at the end of the show.

So unfortunately
we do have another fallen worker

to add to the memorial,
which is taking place on Tuesday.

But the day of the day that this goes out.

So we're going to dedicate today's episode
to maintenance tech Johnny C Adams.

He passed away last week,
I believe, on Thursday in North

Mississippi
due to complications from a work accident.

He is the 50th name that's been
added to the the memorial since 1951.

He will not be forgotten,
but for real, pay attention.

Slow down in work zones.

We don't need to add any more names
to this memorial.

Amen. For sure.

And with that, we'll wrap things up.

Thank you to our listeners, our viewers,
for tuning in to the Extra Mile podcast.

You can watch
and listen to episodes by visiting.

Go and Go for the extra mile.

Follow us on social media at Mississippi
Dot is the handle.

We want to thank our editor and producer,
Drew Hall, for holding things down

behind the scenes.

And remember to drive
smart out there on Mississippi highways.