JEFFERSON CITY -- Machelle Watkins, Jefferson City, has been named the district engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation’s Central District. The district covers 18 counties and includes the cities of Jefferson City and Columbia, as well as the Lake of the Ozarks area. She replaces David Silvester, who left the position to become the district engineer for MoDOT’s Kansas City District.
A registered professional engineer, Watkins has spent her entire career at MoDOT. After graduating from Tennessee Technological University with a civil engineering degree, Watkins worked in a variety of highway design and traffic engineering positions in MoDOT’s Southeast and Central districts.
She also served one year as a Mercury Team Member, where she helped to implement improved plan scoping, project delivery and budgeting processes. After that, she served in a variety of roles in MoDOT’s Planning and Design divisions, before becoming director of Transportation Planning in 2006.
“I am honored to take on the role of district engineer for MoDOT’s Central District,” Watkins said. “I look forward to working with the district employees and community leaders to build upon their hard-earned successes. Working together, I believe we can create an even better tomorrow for transportation in our region.”
Watkins and her husband, John, have a son and a daughter who are both students at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
For more information about MoDOT’s Central District, visit www.modot.org/modot-central-district.
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