Kyle Poat appointed KYTC District 1 Chief District Engineer

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FRANKFORT, Ky. (August 29, 2018) – Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) Secretary Greg Thomas has named Kyle Poat as Chief District Engineer (CDE) for the District 1 highway office in Paducah, effective September 1, 2018, following the retirement of current CDE Mike McGregor at the end of the month.

“I’d like to thank Mike for his dedication to the job and the leadership he brought to the 12-county district for the past five years,” said KYTC Secretary Thomas. “Kyle’s diverse experience will serve him well in this new role as he maintains the momentum to move infrastructure forward in the district.”

Poat most recently served as Project Development & Preservation Engineer for the past six years, supervising operations for six of the 12 district counties. Poat looks forward to serving in this post and building upon progress that has been made in the district.

“District 1 has a dedicated and talented staff,” Poat said. “I look forward to expanding my role to work with our district engineering and support staff to enhance the reliability and safety of our district’s transportation infrastructure. I’m especially excited about our effort to complete the final 20 miles of Interstate 69 over the next four to five years, as well as meeting other transportation challenges.”

Poat is a graduate of the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. He began his career with KYTC in 2002 and has been involved in multiple district operations. In 2008, he became Section Engineer for the Paducah Section overseeing maintenance and construction duties for Ballard, Carlisle and McCracken counties. Over the last 10 years, he has been involved with the construction of the New U.S. 60 Tennessee River Bridge at Ledbetter, the reconstruction of the U.S. 68/KY 80 corridor from Aurora to Cadiz, as well as construction of the new U.S. 68 Eggners Ferry Bridge over Kentucky Lake and the new U.S. 68 Lake Barkley Bridge at Canton. Most recently, Poat has supervised reconstruction and upgrades to the I-24/I-69 interchange near Calvert City.

Poat lives in Paducah. He enjoys playing guitar and coaching Little League Baseball with his sons, Zane and Zachary.

Poat replaces Mike McGregor who is retiring after five years as KYTC District 1 Chief Engineer. McGregor leaves the agency after a 24-year career in transportation.

McGregor, a native of Paducah, began his career with the Cabinet as an engineering scholarship student in 1994 and has held multiple supervisory positions in construction, traffic, maintenance, and project development.

McGregor has been intimately involved in the Lake Bridges Project to build new U.S. 68 bridges over Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake. During his career, McGregor oversaw improvements to U.S. 641 in Crittenden County and the New U.S. 60 Tennessee River Bridge at Ledbetter, as well as efforts to replace a 322 ft. span of the Eggners
Ferry Bridge after it was struck by a cargo ship in 2012.

“I have had the opportunity to work in several areas in District 1, with the long-term goal of being as prepared as possible for my years as chief district engineer,” McGregor said. “I’ve been fortunate to have a great staff dedicated to
maintaining and constructing highways across the region.”

McGregor received a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Kentucky in 1997 and an M.B.A. from Murray State University in 2003. He has been a licensed Professional Engineer since 2002 and has served as Chief District Engineer since 2013. McGregor and his wife Leigh Ann have two daughters and live in Lone Oak.

KYTC District 1 has 270 employees who are responsible for more than 2,800 miles of highway and 1,225 bridges in Trigg, Lyon, Crittenden, Livingston, Marshall, Calloway, Graves, McCracken, Ballard, Carlisle, Hickman and Fulton counties.