SC transportation commission names next leader to run DOT, $2.7B budget. Here’s who it is
South Carolina’s Department of Transportation knows who will be its next leader, pending approval from the state Senate.
Chief Operating Officer Justin Powell was picked by the S.C. DOT Commission to succeed outgoing Transportation Secretary Christy Hall who is retiring on March 31. Powell has been seen as the next person in line to take over the agency.
Powell, 44, has been with the agency since 2019. Before becoming chief operating officer, he served as Hall’s chief of staff.
“I’ve managed large organizations, have balanced budgets in the hundreds of millions and billions, and I brought major projects, from concept to reality throughout my career,” Powell told reporters Thursday. “It will be my highest honor to serve as the secretary of transportation for S.C. DOT.”
Powell’s appointment needs to be confirmed by the state Senate.
Powell will take over a 3,800-employee agency with a $2.7 billion annual budget and $5 billion worth of construction under contract.
The Wofford College graduate, with a masters degree from the University of North Carolina, has worked for the city of Greenville, Dorchester County and Horry County.
Hall, who has worked for DOT for 30 years, said she’ll take some time off before starting a new role.
“I think every good leader knows when it’s time,” the 53-year-old Hall said. “I want to spend more time with my friends and family. Ten years is a long time to be an agency head and it’s time to pass the baton to a new generation of leadership here at the DOT.”
Hall brought Powell over from Horry County after seeing how well he worked during a hurricane response and recovery operation. She wanted to have a succession plan in place for the S.C. DOT with a bench of potential leaders to avoid the chaos that preceded her when the agency had three transportation secretaries in two years.
“I had the opportunity to witness firsthand Mr. Powell’s, great work with Horry County as the assistant administrator at that point in time, and he caught my eye that point in time as somebody that had the right skill set, that was calm, collected and able to have a vision path forward on the local county operations during a crisis event, which is something that unfortunately the DOT has to deal with all the time. So you look for those qualities as well as an excellent background in management for leadership type positions.”
The transportation department is in a “system recovery mode” right now as the agency has worked to improve roads around the state with money from a gas tax increase passed in 2017, Powell said.
But making sure bridges around the state are in good condition will be a top issue for the transportation department, along with increasing prices of materials with ongoing supply chain issues, and adjusting to a world with more electric vehicles, Powell said.
“At the end of the day, transportation really drives how we connect to the world,” Powell said. “For South Carolina to continue to prosper, we’re going to have to continue investing in our system and making sure that that system can handle the pressures and demands that are being placed on it.”
This story was originally published January 18, 2024 at 11:16 AM with the headline "SC transportation commission names next leader to run DOT, $2.7B budget. Here’s who it is."
