Haley Names Hall as SCDOT Secretary; Other States Continue Transitions

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley appointed Christy Hall as secretary of transportation, a role Hall has filled on an acting basis since July 2. That was among continuing transitions in the CEO position for several state DOTs.

Hall became acting CEO of the state Department of Transportation following the resignation of former secretary Janet Oakley in June.

 Hall

It was the second time Hall had been acting secretary, after a stint in February-May 2014. This time she presided over the department during a time of unprecedented flooding that closed hundreds of roads and bridges on the state highway system during October and forced SCDOT crews into heavy workloads to reopen routes.

She was also SCDOT’s deputy secretary for engineering since May 2014, and was deputy secretary of finance and procurement during 2011-2014.

In all, she has more than two decades of experience at SCDOT, where she began her career in road design and held various management positions including program manager, district construction engineer in District 3 and district engineering administrator for District 2.

Hall said she is “honored to lead the men and women of the SCDOT, whose dedication and commitment to service to this great state is inspiring to me. I look forward to continuing to advance and improve upon our shared goals of efficiently and effectively delivering our services for the benefit of our citizens.”

Her appointment comes at a time when several state DOTs are going through leadership transitions, as the AASHTO Journal has previously reported.

In New Hampshire, Victoria Sheehan this month took the NHDOT’s helm as commissioner, after months in which the agency was headed by Assistant Commissioner and Chief Engineer William Cass on an interim basis.

William Panos became interim director at the Wyoming DOT, after former longtime director John Cox became director of the Department of Workforce Services. Cox was the 2014-15 president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials through the group’s annual meeting last month in Chicago.

At the New Jersey Department of Transportation, Commissioner Jamie Fox has said he will leave that post this month. Gov. Chris Christie has said Deputy Commissioner Joseph Bertoni will take over as acting commissioner when Fox leaves.