New WYDOT director appointed

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (KIFI) – Governor Mark Gordon has appointed Darin Westby Director of the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT).

Westby has served as interim director of the agency since March. He was one of three finalist candidates for the position that the Wyoming Transportation Commission submitted to the Governor.

Prior to joining WYDOT as Interim Director, Westby spent 22 years with the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources, serving as Director of the agency from 2016-2023. He has more than 28 years of experience in the environmental, architectural, engineering, construction and management fields. Westby earned his Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wyoming and holds a Civil Professional Engineering license and a certificate in public management.

“I am grateful to the Transportation Commission for doing such a thorough search and for advancing three highly qualified candidates for my consideration,” Governor Gordon said. “Darin has shown himself to be a strong leader while serving in the interim role. His experience as an administrator, in law enforcement, and as an engineer will be critical as he works to advance WYDOT’s mission.”

Westby thanked the Commission and the Governor for their support in allowing him to take on the role, and noted he has spent the last four months learning the agency’s mission as well as its significant impact on the state.

“I have found that WYDOT has very important programs and a great team of amazing people,” Westby said. “Our first goal will be to strengthen WYDOT’s workforce by eliminating the staggering number of vacancies, which should lighten the burden of our existing passionate, but overworked team. The second goal will be to shore up the stateside funding streams to ensure we are maximizing our ability to meet today’s transportation and infrastructure challenges.”

WYDOT is the state of Wyoming’s largest agency, with roughly 2,000 employees.