Amador County – The California Department of Transportation this week announced the appointment of a new director for District 10 which covers eight Central Valley counties, including Amador County.
Stockton-based District 10 will now be led by Carrie L. Bowen, who was announced Tuesday as the new District Director. Caltrans public information official Michele Demetras announced the appointment in a release, saying Bowen is the first female director in District 10’s history.
“Bowen has more than 25 years of diverse experience in planning and delivering transportation projects,” Demetras said. “She began her career with Caltrans in 1991 as an associate environmental planner and worked on Fresno County projects, preparing complex environmental documents for a number of new freeways.”
Demetras said Bowen “rose to the position of deputy district director for the Central Region Environmental Division, overseeing Caltrans’ environmental work in 20 counties and staff in four districts.”
Prior to her current post, Bowen was “on loan” for the past 18 months to the California High Speed Rail Authority and served as its Central California Regional Director. She functioned as the focal point, for regional project issues, including resolving high-speed rail concerns with state, regional and local elected officials, as well as planning organizations and the general public.”
In 2005, Demetras said, “Bowen was appointed to the State Center Community College District Bond Oversight committee, where she served until 2009. She was appointed to the California Oil Spill Technical Advisory Committee from 1997 until 2000.” From 1985 to 1991, she served on the staff of then-Assemblyman Jim Costa, advising on a variety of key Central Valley issues, including transportation and high-speed rail.
As District 10 Director, Bowen will oversee “multi-million-dollar capital construction projects within the eight counties comprising the district,” which are Amador, Alpine, Calaveras, Mariposa, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tuolumne Counties. Bowen will also direct maintenance and operations for the district.
Bowen will be responsible for 524 employees and 3,670 miles of State Highway routes in District 10. She will oversee “an annual budget of $74.6 million and $4.5 billion worth of highway construction projects and programs throughout the eight counties.”
Bowen replaces District 10 Interim Director Richard Harmon.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
