Andy Sikkema was a familiar face to those visiting Michigan Department of Transportation’s Ishpeming Transportation Service Center anytime within the last 20 plus years.

He’s been an MDOT employee for 24 years, retiring in July.

To honor his time working for the department, MDOT renamed a roadside park in Michigamme Sept. 4 in Sikkema’s honor.

We think this is a well-deserved honor for an Ishpeming native son.

Sikkema acted as a source on countless occasions over the years for Mining Journal employees. He was always a pleasure to work with, and he will be missed by our staff.

Prior to joining MDOT, Sikkema worked for seven-and-a-half years as a civilian employee with the U.S. Department of Defense in military construction for the Army Corps of Engineers and Air Force. He also worked as a contractor.

He left a job at Sawyer Air Force Base to work for MDOT on local agency programs in Lansing. Sikkema was with that division for about two-and-a-half years, working with counties on road projects. He also worked in MDOT’s Rail Freight Division briefly before returning to the Upper Peninsula as the resident engineer at what was then MDOT’s Ishpeming Engineering Office. That office later became one of MDOT’s first transportation service centers in August 1996.

To see Sikkema’s reaction to the new park name, see page 6A’s Superior People article in today’s newspaper.