Submitted by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Writer

Jefferson City, Missouri - MoDOT Director Dave Nichols today named Jefferson City, Missouri - Ed Hassinger, St. Louis District Engineer for the past 12 years, the Missouri Department of Transportation’s Chief Engineer.

Hassinger, 51, fills the position that has been vacant since March, when Nichols moved up from chief engineer to director. Hassinger has 29 years of experience with MoDOT in a variety of roles.

"Ed has done an excellent job directing MoDOT's efforts in St. Louis," Nichols said. "Everywhere he's worked, he's built solid relationships that have enabled us to partner with others to achieve our goals. He's the right man to lead our districts, engineering divisions and maintenance efforts going forward."

Hassinger, a native of Columbia and a 1983 graduate of the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering, began his MoDOT career as a design engineer in the Bridge Division. He's also worked as a traffic engineer, bridge maintenance engineer, assistant district engineer in the St. Louis District, and spent one year as the District Engineer in the Northeast District in Hannibal.

 "I'm excited to accept the chief engineer position," Hassinger said. "We have significant challenges ahead of us with the funding situation we face to keep our system in the best condition possible while looking for opportunities to make the kind of improvements that our customers desire. It will take a total team effort to be successful and I feel honored to be able to lead that team."

Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission Chairman Joe Carmichael said, "Ed Hassinger has been a most-valued member of the MoDOT family for many years and the Commission has tremendous respect for what he has accomplished in St. Louis. We look forward to working even closer with him to develop Missouri's transportation priorities for the future."

In the St. Louis District, Hassinger has led nearly 800 employees in the planning, design, construction and maintenance of 6,000 miles of roads in Franklin, Jefferson, St. Charles and St. Louis Counties and the City of St. Louis. He is a registered professional engineer (P.E.) in the state of Missouri.

Hassinger's photo may be found at http://www.modot.org/newsroom/index.htm