AASHTO Journal, 2 November 2012
Minnesota Department of Transportation Commissioner Tom Sorel announced Thursday he will be leaving MnDOT at the end of the month to become President and CEO of AAA Minneapolis. Sorel has served as MnDOT commissioner since April 2008.
“It has been a tremendous honor to serve the citizens of Minnesota as MnDOT Commissioner for the past four years,” Sorel said in a statement. “MnDOT is a great organization supported by exemplary public servants who I will miss tremendously. My thanks go to Governor Dayton, who reappointed me as commissioner, and the legislative transportation committees that confirmed me. As I move into the next phase of my life’s journey, I will always cherish my time serving as MnDOT Commissioner.”
Gov. Dayton stated his appreciation for Sorel’s work and his well wishes for his new endeavor.
“Tom has served the State of Minnesota with excellence, and I thank him for his dedicated public service to the people of Minnesota,” he said. “Tom’s strong leadership, depth of knowledge, and decades of experience will serve him well in this new venture. I wish him well as he takes on this new role.”
With Sorel’s departure scheduled for Nov. 30, Dayton has appointed Bernie Arseneau, current MnDOT deputy commissioner and chief engineer, as acting commissioner. Arseneau, who has served at MnDOT for about 30 years, is Chair of the AASHTO Subcommittee on Traffic Engineering and is a member of AASHTO’s Standing Committee on Highways and Standing Committee on Highway Traffic Safety. Arseneau is also active in Minnesota’s Toward Zero Deaths program and is both a registered professional engineer and a professional traffic operations engineer.