KDOT leader resigns in first major staffing change for Gov. Laura Kelly since election

Jonathan Shorman
·2 min read

Kansas Transportation Secretary Julie Lorenz has resigned, the first major change in Gov. Laura Kelly’s cabinet since her re-election.

Lorenz has led the Kansas Department of Transportation over the past four years, since shortly after Kelly took office in 2019. She will depart Dec. 23, the governor’s office announced Tuesday.

Kelly, a Democrat, didn’t immediately name a permanent replacement, which will require confirmation by the state Senate. Calvin Reed, director of KDOT’s Division of Engineering and Design, will serve as interim secretary.

Kansas is expected to ultimately receive $3.2 billion under the federal infrastructure law passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2021. Lorenz was at the helm of KDOT as the state began receiving funds.

Lorenz also oversaw the agency as Kansas set out on a new, 10-year infrastructure plan, the Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program, called IKE. The program commits KDOT to spending at least $8 million in each of the state’s 105 counties.

“Julie has been a visionary transportation secretary, seeing infrastructure not simply as roads and bridges but as a powerful way to bring people together for the betterment of future generations,” Kelly said in a statement.

Kelly praised Lorenz’s role in approving a decade-long infrastructure program and coordinating billions of dollars in infrastructure funding.

“I’m most proud that during my tenure, we were able to craft and implement our new state transportation program, IKE,” Lorenz said in a statement. ”Thanks to the bipartisan support for IKE, we have rebuilt our infrastructure and modernized how we deliver transportation allowing Kansas to better seize opportunities and meet challenges now and in the future.”

Kelly’s office said Lorenz will return to the private sector. Before joining the government, Lorenz was a principal at Burns & McDonnell.

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