FRONTPAGE

HIGHWAY DISTRICT 12 – July 17, 2008 – Kevin Damron, PE, of Dorton in Pike County has been appointed Highway District 12's Chief District Engineer by Transportation Secretary Joe Prather. The appointment was effective Wednesday, July 16. Highway District 12 includes the following counties: Lawrence, Johnson, Martin, Floyd, Knott, Pike, and Letcher.

“Mr. Damron has extensive knowledge and experience,” said Transportation Secretary Joe Prather in making the announcement. “We look forward to his continued leadership.”

Damron earned his Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree from the University of Kentucky , where he was a Transportation Cabinet scholarship student. He started working full time for the Cabinet in 1986 as a design engineer in Frankfort . After earning his Master of Civil Engineering in 1990, Damron transferred to the District 12 office in Pikeville as a design engineer, a post he held until 1997, when he was appointed Transportation Engineering Branch Manager for Preconstruction, which includes design, right of way, and utilities.

Except for a brief hiatus in 2004, when he filled in as acting Chief District Engineer at District 11 in Manchester , Damron has held the leadership post in Preconstruction continuously. Among the projects his design, right of way, and utilities teams have accomplished are more than 40 state and county bridge replacements; reconstruction of KY 40, KY 979, and the US 23 Six-Lane Project; completion of US 119 in Pike County; Pine Mountain spot improvements; and more than $1 billion of work on Appalachian Development Highway System roads in Pike and Letcher counties (US 119 and US 460). He has also been responsible for the first allocation for work on I-66 in Pike County ($1 billion).

Damron was selected 2000 Engineer of the Year by the Kentucky Association of Transportation Engineers. He completed the Cabinet's Certified Public Managers program in 2002. He was one of the team members responsible for District 12 receiving the following awards:

2006 ACEC Grand Conceptor Award (highest award in Kentucky ) for the US 119 bridge over Raccoon Creek
2006 AASHTO Award for Context Sensitive Solutions for Pine Mountain/US 119
2005 AASHTO Award for Environmental Stewardship for Pine Mountain/US 119
2005 ACEC Honorable Mention for US 119 bridge at Burning Fork
2005 ACEC Honorable Mention for US 119 bridge at Sidney
2005 KYTC Engineering Excellence Award for KY 201 rehab in Johnson County
2005 KYTC Engineering Excellence Award for the US 23 six-lane project

An accomplished public speaker, Damron has been featured at the state's annual Partnering Conference (a joint venture between the Transportation Cabinet and engineering companies) for more than a decade. He has been a presenter at numerous conferences and training academies, including Kentucky , North Carolina , and Puerto Rico .

Kevin has been married for 23 years to Darlene Adkins, his high school sweetheart and the owner of Darlene Damron Photography in Pikeville. They are the parents of two daughters, Makayla (13) and Kennedy (8).