Kansas Transportation Secretary, Julie Lorenz will resign later this year after nearly four years in office. The top transportation official in Kansas is stepping down just before Christmas in the first major change at a state agency since Democratic Gocernor Laura Kelly won reelection earlier this month.
Lorenz plans to return to private business. Her last day leading the state department of transportation is December 23rd. Lorenz spearheaded Kelly’s successful Legislative push in 2020 for a new, 10-year program of highway and bridge projects. Worth about $1 billion a year, it also includes money to improve infrastructure for high-speed internet service and allows the state to build new toll roads or add toll lanes on existing highways.
Kelly appointed Calvin Reed, Director of the department’s Design and Engineering Division, as Interim Transportation Secretary until the Governor nominates a more permanent replacement for Lorenz. The appointment must be confirmed by the Republican-controlled Kansas Senate.
