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BOULDER, Colo – In Colorado, there are growing pains everywhere, and construction traffic is something a lot of people don’t like to deal with.
But on US Highway 36 in Boulder, one construction worker is trying to ease the pain drivers have to deal with in construction traffic by merely doing what she loves.
“I like to dance while I’m working for multiple reasons; one is so people notice me and actually slow down in a construction zone, but the other is to just make drivers smile," said Shelly Bowman, one of the flaggers on the project.
Bowman said she has been a flagger for three years.
“It can be a boring job if you let it be,” Bowman said.
Some people have even given her a nickname: The rock and roll flag lady.
If you see her on US 36, you may notice she is dancing, but not wearing any headphones.
“That’s because I keep it in my hard hat,” Bowman said. “My favorite song is probably ‘something about a truck.’ I love to listen to country and blues while I work.”
As each driver slows down, you can see Bowman dancing and waving to each driver yelling out ‘thank you’ when the driver actually slows down.
“They smile when they see me dancing,” Bowman said. “And that’s great because a lot of people are angry in a construction zone. If I can make them smile while they’re slowing down, that just makes their day a little better. Because it’s probably a better experience than the last construction zone they were in.”
In a place that’s continually growing, with lots of traffic jams and construction zones, sometimes seeing someone with passion like Bowman is a reminder just to love life.
If you see Bowman, you’ll slow down to see her, and you won’t be able to do anything else but smile.