RALEIGH - The following are highlights from this week at the N.C. Department of Transportation. The stories below are also featured in
NCDOT Now, the department's weekly newscast.
Karen Collette Retires
The department’s first and only female division engineer will
retire this month.
Karen Collette has spent her entire career with NCDOT. She was appointed as the division engineer for the greater Wilmington area in 2012.
This week, Collette was honored with two awards at the monthly board meeting, the ‘Karen Collette Trailblazer Award,’ which will now be presented annually to an employee of the department who exhibits the trailblazing characteristics of Collette; plus, the ‘Road Gang Award’ for going above and beyond during her 30-year career at the department.
“I am just humble and grateful to have worked with such a great team," Collette said. "They are fantastic people, they’re very productive and they’re customer service oriented and so that’s all I ever wanted – to be a public servant that has produced something for the great state of North Carolina and Division 3 has done an absolutely outstanding job of that."
Division 3 Deputy Engineer Chad Kimes will take over as the Division 3 Engineer.
Another leader in that division, Kevin Bowen, will leave the area, but stay with NCDOT. He has been named Division 4 Engineer.
Doug Galyon Dedication
Transportation Secretary Jim Trogdon and Gov. Roy Cooper were in Greensboro this week to dedicate one section of the Greensboro Urban Loop to the late Doug Galyon and cut the ribbon on a separate section.
Galyon served on the state Board of Transportation for 17 years, nine of them as chairman.
He was also on the Greensboro City Council, Guilford County Board of Commissioners, and was a key advocate for the Urban Loop and helped to establish the Piedmont Triad’s regional transit program.
The 44-mile loop around Greensboro is nearly complete. The loop is already improving traffic flow around the Gate City.
NC Moves 2050 Survey
NCDOT wants to build a transportation system people want, need and will use. We want you to be part of that planning process, and now is the time to speak up.
Go to NCDOT.gov to find our short survey. Make sure you share what’s important to you, because it will help shape the future of transportation in the NC Moves 2050 plan.
For more information about
NCDOT Now, contact the NCDOT Communications Office at 919-707-2660. Additional news stories from throughout the week can be found on
NCDOT.gov.