AASHTO Journal, 7 November 2014
CDOT Executive Director Don Hunt speaks at a 2011 event on safe driving around emergency vehicles. Photo courtesy Colorado State Patrol media center.
Don Hunt will soon resign as executive director of the Colorado Department of Transportation, the Denver Post reported, but plans to stay as least through the end of this year as Gov. John Hickenlooper selects a new CDOT chief.
Hickenlooper named Hunt to head the agency on Jan. 11, 2011, so he’ll have been there about four years before he vacates that office. But Hunt said he told the governor in 2011 he would not stay on in a second term, the Post story said, which Hickenlooper won in the Nov. 4 election.
“I told the governor in late 2011 that there was no way I will be around for a second term, just so you know,” Hunt told the Post. As to how long he stays on, Hunt said, “I don’t plan to leave until we find the right person for Colorado” to lead the agency.
Hunt’s time at the helm included dealing with the devastation of many roads and bridges from the September 2013 floods, which led to disaster declarations in 15 counties and major repairs for the state’s transportation system.
Hickenlooper said on Nov. 6 that Hunt “directed CDOT through one of the most challenging times in its history during last year’s floods, and we as a state owe our gratitude to his extraordinary leadership and vision for this organization.”
Before taking the CDOT job, Hunt for 11 years was president of Antero Co., a project development and management firm. He earlier spent 25 years at BRW Inc., a national transportation and urban development consulting firm, as the principal for transportation and urban projects and for the last 10 years as CEO.