Countywide : Caltrans Names Interim Director
P. Kay Griffin has been named interim director of the California Department of Transportation district that encompasses Orange County.
Griffin, 52, replaces Russell O. Lightcap, who retired as the director of District 12 in December after 45 years with Caltrans.
Griffin, an Oklahoma native, has worked for Caltrans since 1965, when she became one of only four women among the ranks of the approximately 5,000 engineers then with the agency.
Now, she said, there are about 750 women out of 13,000 engineers.
Calling her first week on the job “stimulating,” Griffin said she hopes the temporary assignment will be a “growing experience.”
No permanent successor has been named. A formal interview process will be conducted to find a replacement. An Orange County Transportation Authority representative will participate in the search.
Caltrans District 12 has direct supervision over $400 million in projects in Orange County this year and also has indirect oversight for another $1 billion in toll road construction and other projects.
In a previous assignment, Griffin was chief of the Division of Highway Operations, giving her responsibility for setting statewide policy and standards for the state highway system, toll bridges, ride-sharing facilities and truck operations.
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