Michigan Department of Transportation veteran to advance the Archer Guard mission of enhancing protection for roadway workers
NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, January 26, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Meridian Rapid Defense Group has appointed former MDOT roadways safety expert Chris Brookes to oversee its rapidly expanding Archer Guard business. Mr. Brookes, the former Work Zone Delivery Engineer for the state of Michigan, is taking on the role of Archer Guard Business Development Director.
Designed specifically to protect roadway workers, Archer Guard provides rapid, mobile protection for active work zones on bridges, tapers, and road shoulders. The system can be deployed by a single person in approximately five minutes and requires no power source or heavy equipment, making it an efficient and practical solution for modern work-zone safety.
In welcoming Chris to Meridian, CEO Peter Whitford said, “Chris is widely regarded as a leader in roadway worker safety and someone who actively champions innovation. His deep experience and credibility within the DOT community make him the ideal person to help advance Archer Guard as a next-generation solution for protecting road crews.”
In his statewide engineering role, Chris regularly reviewed new products and innovations. He said Archer Guard stood apart: “It was the first product I evaluated where I had no feedback or suggested improvements. It simply worked, seamlessly and intuitively. That almost never happens. Usually, I have plenty to say about new products, but the Archer Guard just made sense.”
After earning a civil engineering degree at Michigan State, Chris started straight out of college with MDOT and, during his 17 years, rose through the ranks. Most recently, in his leadership role, he worked to raise awareness of the need for work zone safety and provided statewide oversight to ensure compliance with regulations.
Chris said, “My job was to not only make it safe for road workers but also make it safe for motorists to get past work areas with as little inconvenience as possible. In many ways, you can compare it to a football offensive lineman. Whereas if I did a great job, you wouldn’t notice me, but the second I messed up, you’d be pointing fingers and yelling at me.”
Meridian Rapid Defense Group has experienced rapid growth across the public safety sector, driven by strong demand for its Archer product family, including the Archer 1200 mobile vehicle barrier, Archer Beam, and Rapid Gates. These solutions have become trusted tools for cities and organizations seeking to protect people from vehicle intrusions.
“With Archer Guard now seeing strong demand alongside our other products, it was the right time to bring in someone of Chris’s caliber,” Whitford said. “Aligning with the best DOT professionals to bring proven safety technologies to market is central to our mission, and we are proud to welcome Chris to the Meridian team.”
Chris serves on several road safety organizations, including the NCUTCD (National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices) and ATSSA (American Traffic Safety Services Association. In 2017, he was the recipient of the ATTSA National Safety Award, and in 2024, the ARTBA Traffic Safety Industry Division Jake Landen Highway Safety Award. Chris and his wife, Amy, are proud parents of two delightful boys, Ryan and Jack, and a wonderful little girl, Zoey. He also coaches the boys’ basketball and football teams.
Meridian Archer 1200 barriers, Archer Guard, Archer Beam, and Rapid gates are “SAFETY Act Certified” by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), setting the standard for keeping people, communities, and places safer. For more information about Meridian Rapid Defense Group and the Archer Guard, visit www.meridian-barrier.com.
Eric Alms
Meridian Rapid Defense Group
+1 213-400-9811
email us here
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