Julie Constan named new Regional Transportation Director for southwest and south-central Colorado

SOUTHWEST & SOUTH-CENTRAL COLORADO — The Colorado Department of Transportation is pleased to announce that Julie Constan has been named as the new Regional Transportation Director for southwest and south-central Colorado. Constan will lead the region’s team of more than 300 employees who are responsible for planning, design, construction, operations and maintenance of highways in a 15-county area.

“Julie will be leading a strong and dedicated team with a lot of challenging and exciting work ahead,” said CDOT Executive Director, Shoshana Lew. “In her four years with CDOT, she has served as the region’s traffic and safety program engineer developing close working relationships with local agency partners to improve safety and multimodal options along the region’s state highway system.”

In the role as the region’s traffic and safety engineer, Constan recently led the effort to secure an Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment (ATCMD) grant to lay fiber optic cable over Wolf Creek Pass and continue to expand access of fiber to southwestern Colorado. The grant will also allow for the deployment of intelligent transportation devices to communicate with commercial trucks and reduce truck crashes on the west side of Wolf Creek Pass. The fiber optic installation project will begin this spring. 

“I was raised in Pagosa Springs and joined CDOT Region 5 with a love for the mountains of southwest Colorado and the beautiful San Luis Valley,” said Constan. “I’m excited to continue to build upon the strong relationships I’ve established with community members and leaders in our region’s communities.”

A native of Colorado, Constan is a graduate of Colorado State University with a degree in civil engineering. Constan lives in Durango with her husband of 17 years and 14-year-old son. She replaces former Regional Transportation Director, Mike McVaugh, who recently retired.

About CDOT

CDOT’s Whole System-Whole Safety program has one simple mission — to get everyone home safely. Our approximately 3,000 employees work tirelessly to reduce the rate and severity of crashes and improve the safety of all modes of transportation. The department manages more than 23,000 lane miles of highway, more than 3,000 bridges and 35 mountain passes. CDOT also manages grant partnerships with a range of agencies, including metropolitan planning organizations, local governments and airports. It also operates Bustang, the state-owned interregional express bus service. Gov. Jared Polis has charged CDOT to further build on the state’s intermodal mobility options.