Two long-time Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) employees have been appointed to higher leadership positions within the organization.
Rick Johnson recently served as the Project Management Division Manager. He will now be Director of Capital Programs. Jared Schwennesen has been assistant to the Director of Capital Programs at ODOT since 2009. He will now serve at the Rail Division Manager.
Both were named at the July Oklahoma Transportation Commission meeting.
Johnson began working for ODOT in 1997 as a Transportation CADD Specialist in Roadway Design. He has continued moving upward since then, and has headed several notable projects in his tenure, including the reconstruction of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area I-244 TIGER GRANT, Oklahoma’s first multi-modal bridge crossing to accommodate highway, high-speed intercity and commuter rail, pedestrian and bike traffic, along with Oklahoma’s first fully accelerated bridge construction project.
Schwennesen started with ODOT in 2009 as an Engineer in Training. He joined the organization shortly after graduating from the University of Oklahoma with a Masters of Science in Civil Engineering in 2008. His titles and roles have changed a great deal since then, and he has participated in several of ODOT’s special initiatives. These have included updates to ODOT’s Strategic Plan, execution of the website OKroads.org, and installation of electric vehicle charging stations.