The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission today named Dave Nichols as the new state transportation director.
Nichols had served as interim director since Kevin Keith announced on March 21 that he was taking a medical leave with the intent of retiring later this year.
“Dave Nichols has the talent, skills, and experience needed to be a successful leader for MoDOT,” Highway Commission Chairman Joe Carmichael said in a prepared statement.
The commission decided unanimously to forego a "prolonged search" for Keith's permanent replacement, Carmichael said in the press release, "as the right person for the job was already here."
Nichols has been with MoDOT for 29 years, holding several leadership positions. He was chief engineer and served as the agency's first director of program delivery.
Dave Nichols was named director of the Missouri Department of Transportation on April 2, 2013. Photo courtesy MoDOT.
Ken Leiser is the transportation writer at the Post-Dispatch. Read his Along for the Ride column online and every Sunday in the newspaper.
