Dan McElhinney accepted the position of Chief Operations Officer for the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) effective August 10, 2020, after an extensive national search. As the Chief Operations Officer for ITD, he provides leadership and support to the six District Engineers and district employees across the state in highway planning, design, construction, maintenance and traffic operations helping to serve the traveling public and local communities. Daily our 1,600 ITD employees are focused on operating and improving an integrated network of over 12,000 highway lane miles with over 1,800 bridges, 34 rest areas, and 12 fixed ports of entry. Dan brings a wealth of experience with him to ITD. During his career, he has dealt with many issues that our department will be facing such as rapid growth, innovative contracting and autonomous vehicles. He has demonstrated a history of seeing tough projects through to the finish line and bringing diverse groups together. Dan has quickly become a very valuable asset to our team as he is the kind of collaborative leader who brings people together to make us the best transportation department in the country. Dan comes to ITD from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) where he served as District 10 Director in Stockton. As District Director, he was responsible for overseeing more than 3,500 lane miles in eight counties, leading 600 employees and managing a nearly $2 billion capital program asset management plan and an annual operating budget of more than $150 million. He also brings experience serving on a variety of commissions and policy councils. As District Director, Dan served as Commissioner on the Delta Protection Commission and as a Caltrans Ex-Officio member of the San Joaquin Regional Rail/Altamont Corridor Express Commission, the Stanislaus Council of Governments, and the San Joaquin Council of Governments. He previously served a six-year term as a Commissioner on the San Francisco Bay Conservation & Development Commission (BCDC) and on the BCDC Sea Level Rise Policy Group. Prior to accepting the District 10 position, Dan served as the San Francisco Bay Area District 4 Chief Deputy Director where he was responsible for over 7,000 lane miles in nine counties for 16 years where he led more than 3,000 employees and had oversight for a construction program in excess of $10 billion during that time. Dan also served as the State Toll Bridge Program Manager leading rehabilitation or replacement of 7 toll bridges covering 20 miles of Bay Area crossings in partnership with the Bay Area Toll Authority. Previously he was a Deputy District Director/Principal Manager of the Caltrans North Region of 22 counties. These are just a few of the many positions that he held during his 32 years at Caltrans. Dan is a licensed civil engineer who graduated from the Colorado School of Mines with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering with Minors in Surveying and Metallurgy.