Searching for Barrel Bob

Where in the world is Barrel Bob now? What was intended as a fun, but informative safety campaign ended with an act of vandalism this weekend. Bob was taken from his location at U.S. 50 and Bynum Road without authorization on Sunday evening.

Barrel Bob was placed in a very active construction zone to send a safety message - to slow down and drive safely in work zones. Unfortunately his message was not taken seriously.

"We would very much like to see him returned and we are working with the police to find him," said Perry Allen, Construction and Materials Engineer. "Since 2000, 15 MoDOT employees have been killed in the line of duty. Bob is the literal representation of how important driver awareness is to the safety of workers in the construction zone."

Allen encourages anyone with information about Barrel Bob's location to contact the Lone Jack Police Department or MoDOT at 888-275-6636.

While intended to be clever and eye catching, the Barrels also represent a very important message about taking it slow through work zones. With the loss of Barrel Bob an innovative education campaign on safety is no longer available.

Barrel Bob, developed as part of the kcICON project, is a creation of Robert Ohl, a Clarkson Construction employee. All labor and materials were donated to create Barrel Bob, which took about ten hours to build. Barrel Betty, also a donation from Ohl and Clarkson Construction, joined Bob on the job this past February.