Couple walks in memory of fallen MoDOT workers

Dr. Josh is inspecting infected A.J.
Dr. Josh is inspecting infected A.J.

Missouri Department of Transportation employee Jim Feeney and his wife, Theo, walked into Jefferson City from the Katy Trail to applause Tuesday afternoon.

"Is this mile mark 145.2? We've been waiting on this one," he joked as he stopped and drank from a bottle of water.

It wasn't a typical walk. The couple trekked 91.1 miles in the last four days - almost a marathon a day - as a way to honor MoDOT employees who have been killed in the line of duty and to raise awareness for work zone safety.

"I work in work zones pretty much on a daily basis," he said. "These cars are our bullets. People come through them pretty fast. And we just want them to be aware (that) we have families, too. We want to go home."

It was the second straight year the Defiance resident did the walk, which also raises money for the Fallen Workers Memorial. Last year he raised $2,400, and this year had raised $900 by the start of the walk.

He said the walk was a way to give back to his fellow workers and to his employer, which he said has always been good to him. They started the walk on Saturday near Weldon Springs.

"It was a nice walk," he said. "One little blister, that's all I got."

His wife, a pilates instructor who put him on a walking regimen last year, took off her shoe to reveal a bloody sock near the ball of her foot.

"She's a trouper," Feeney said.