Engineer the new director for MoDOT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission said Thursday that it had selected chief engineer Kevin Keith to lead the state Department of Transportation.

Keith has been the transportation agency's interim director since this spring and has spent more than 25 years working for the department. He told reporters at the department's headquarters in Jefferson City that working with declining funds for road construction would be one of the biggest challenges he faces.

The department estimated that it would need about $1 billion more per year to meet all the needs for roads, bridges and other means of transportation.

Keith said the transportation department would complete its planned highway projects but would need to focus on maintaining existing roads and bridges.

"We're not broke, We still have resources to work with. The trick is going to be how do we get the most bang out of the resources we have," he said.

Rudy Farber, the chairman of the transportation commission, said Keith is a strong leader and has received national praise for his work. Farber said commissioners conducted a national search that eventually selected three finalists from a pool of hundreds.

Keith succeeds former transportation director Pete Rahn, who resigned to take a job with a Kansas City-based engineering company. Keith has been the transportation department's chief engineer, planning director and a district engineer.