Kevin James has been named the district engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation’s Northeast District. James, who has served as the assistant district engineer for the Northeast District for the past 17 years, will step into the leadership role following District Engineer Paula Gough’s retirement in February, and will lead MoDOT operations in the Northeast District’s 17 counties.

Originally from Palmyra, Missouri, James has been with MoDOT for 29 years, beginning in 1996. He has served the department in various roles as both an area engineer and a traffic engineer in the Northeast District, an assistant district engineer in Macon, and most recently as the assistant district engineer in the Northeast District – a position he’s held since 2011. James is a graduate of the University of Missouri, where he graduated with honors in civil engineering. He resides in Palmyra with his wife, Christy, and his two children, Anna and Christian.

“I am honored and humbled to be selected as the district engineer for MoDOT’s Northeast District,” James said. “This area is my home, and it means a lot to step into this role and to be able to serve the people in the northeast communities, and the state of Missouri. There’s a lot of investments being made in transportation infrastructure right now and I am excited to lead these efforts alongside our planning partners and the construction and contractor community.”