Yesterday Governor-elect Gretchen Whitmer announced a significant number of her key cabinet appointments including the key person who will carry out her primary campaign promise to “Fix the Damn Roads.”
Paul Ajegba, a 28-year veteran of the Michigan Department of Transportation, was named by Whitmer as the Department’s next Director.
Paul brings over a decade of transportation leadership experience to his new role as the Director of the Department of Transportation. His previous leadership positions within the department include the Manager of the Oakland Transportation Service Center, the Metro Region Deputy Region Engineer, the University Region Engineer, and most recently the Metro Region Engineer.
Paul is known as a collaborator within the community of transportation leaders and he has led teams to deliver innovative transportation solutions, most notably the national award-winning US-23 Flex Route (Active Traffic Management System) north of Ann Arbor. Paul’s leadership was instrumental in delivering the project that reconfigured the I-96/US-23 interchange in Brighton, and he has contributed significantly in the planning and development of the Mcity and the American Center for Mobility facilities for the testing of connected and automated vehicle technology.
“We have worked successfully with Paul in the past to deliver several very high profile and innovative projects” said Glenn Bukoski, MITA’s Vice President of Engineering Services, “and now we look forward to working with him in his new role as Director of MDOT as we work together to address the significant needs of our transportation infrastructure across Michigan.”
Paul succeeds Mark Van Port Fleet as the Director of MDOT, and his appointment is effective January 1, 2019.
