President Joe Biden has nominated former Delaware Department of Transportation Secretary Shailen P. Bhatt for the post of Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Bhatt is Senior Vice President of Global Transportation Innovation and Alternative Delivery at AECOM, a consulting firm.
Bhatt previously served as the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Transportation, and as a presidential appointee at the U.S. Department of Transportation.
According to a White House release, “Bhatt spearheaded innovative solutions, collaborations, and partnerships to support the delivery of safe, sustainable, and cost-effective transportation systems for the 21st century. He previously worked as the CEO of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, Chair of the Board of Directors for the National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE), Chair of the Executive Committee of the I-95 Corridor Coalition, and was a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of Automotive and Personal Transport.”
Bhatt was one of a number of people brought in by the administration of Gov. Jack Markell, who departed from the usual pattern of governors not looking outside the state for administrative talent. Markell’s predecessor John Carney has mainly relied on current state employees to fill cabinet posts.
Bhatt shared Markell’s love of bicycling that, along with Congressional action, led to the continuing expansion of the trail system in Delaware.
Bhatt dealt with numerous issues at DelDOT, which had seen its share of scandals and controversies that included a questionable real estate transaction in Milford involving a wholesale beer distributor during the tenure of the late Gov. Ruth Ann Minner.
The agency is far larger than some of its counterparts around the country since Delaware does not have county or township highway departments.
Bhatt also faced the high-profile closing of a key I-495 bridge near Wilmington linked to fill dumped under the structure that may have led to the ground sinking. The closing led to a Delaware visit by President Obama, who highlighted the challenges facing the nation’s infrastructure.
Markell is now serving in an ambassadorship in Europe.