Highway Maintenance Specialist - La Veta Pass

Summary
Join CDOT as a Highway Maintenance Specialist in La Veta Pass, CO. If you hold a Colorado Class A or B Commercial Driver’s License, this role offers a total annual compensation of $53,400 (base pay $2,053.85 biweekly, annualized hourly rate $25.67 with overtime at $38.50/hr).

• Plowing snow
• Operating heavy equipment such as tandem dump trucks, loaders, and tractor‑mowers
• Mowing grass and weeds
• Removing debris from roadways, culverts, tunnels, and other sites
• Shoveling gravel, sand, concrete, and asphalt
• Digging ditches
• Installing and repairing guardrails, highway markers, signs, warning signs, and lighting
• Filling potholes and roadway cracks
• Setting out signs and cones for traffic control
• Removing and covering graffiti
• Installing pavement markings and striping
• Stopping or slowing traffic in emergency situations
• Maintaining equipment and performing minor repairs
• Following safety guidance and wearing proper safety equipment

Your work keeps Colorado’s roadways open and safe, positively affecting quality of life for residents and visitors and supporting the state’s economy.

• Personal protective equipment (uniforms, boots, hard hats, gloves, safety vest, respirator, tools)
• Full payment for your CDL physical after the first year with CDOT
• Partial reimbursement (up to 50%) for CDL renewal after the first year
• CPR and first‑aid training
• Career training opportunities
• 40‑hour work weeks with overtime during weather emergencies
• 4‑day work schedule (10‑hour days Monday‑Thursday) during summer (May–September)
• Opportunities to learn new equipment and advance

• Exposure to loud noise and fumes, odors, gasses, dusts
• Use of personal protective equipment and chemical cleaning products
• Work near traffic, including high‑speed traffic
• Use of ladders and scissor lifts (10–20 ft)
• Use of CDOT vehicles
• Frequent emergency response outside normal hours, including overtime, weekends, and holidays
• Work in extreme temperatures, variable weather, and elevations up to 12,000 ft

• At least 2 years of physical labor and/or heavy‑equipment operation experience

• Strong commitment to safety
• Desire to learn and work outdoors
• Ability to perform physically demanding work
• Pride in a job well done
• Ability to adapt to changing conditions and priorities
• Team‑oriented and looks out for others
• Effective communication, particularly in safety‑critical situations
• Commitment to customer service
• Problem‑solving skills
• Experience operating various heavy equipment (dump trucks, loaders, bulldozers, backhoes)
• Experience using hand tools
• Basic computer skills with willingness to learn new software
• State service experience related to job duties

• Valid Commercial Driver’s License Class A or B with no air‑brake restriction
• Qualified to drive in Colorado (or transfer CDL within 30 days of relocation)
• Pass pre‑employment screening (social security, criminal, public, educational, driving records)
• May require drug test and DOT physical
• On‑call and shift work; essential service designation
• May need to live within 30‑minute drive of worksite
• Complete training (2 weeks new, 1 week yearly for veterans)
• May need Hazardous Materials endorsement within 6 months – 1 year
• Provide emergency telephone contact

Colorado states that it is a Colorado for All, building and maintaining workplaces that value and respect all Coloradans and hiring based on merit and fitness.