New DOT secretary in my state ... from Missouri via New Mexico

[cpzilliacus]

Washington Post: Hogan looks outside Md. for transportation secretary, turns to former rival for planning

Maryland Gov.-elect Larry Hogan is expected to pick a transportation secretary from out of state and name one of his Republican primary rivals as secretary of planning, according to several people familiar with the picks.

Hogan (R) will soon name Pete Rahn, who has held transportation posts in New Mexico and Missouri, as Maryland's next transportation secretary, those familiar with the picks said. Hogan will name David R. Craig, the former Harford County executive, as planning secretary, they said.

Anyone had any experience with Mr. Rahn?  Good, bad or indifferent?

[J N Winkler]

I have not lived in either Missouri or New Mexico, but I do have some experience with Rahn.  He was an insurance agent in Farmington before Gary Johnson (then NM governor) appointed him NMSHTD secretary.  He used innovative finance, including a warranty agreement which some commentators thought was a sweetheart deal for Koch's asphalt division, to expand over 100 miles of what was then NM 44 (now US 550) between Albuquerque and Bloomfield from two lanes to four within a very short construction period (I think two years).  At the time it was said that this saved 27 years and several hundreds of millions of dollars versus the alternative of expanding the road piecemeal.  What was not reported at the time, however, was that the expansion occurred on the existing alignment, and thus effectively replaced a 65-MPH two-lane highway with not very generous geometry with a 70-MPH undivided four-lane rural arterial (with "doubled" yellow centerline) that has plenty of blind summits (invariably signed with 65 MPH advisory speeds) and sharp horizontal curves.

In Missouri, which has chronic transportation funding problems, Rahn attempted to recruit taxpayer support for increased funding by embarking on a much-touted "Smoother and Safer" program which consisted of thin overlays over a fairly high mileage of rural highway, in combination with signing and guardrail improvements.  The idea was to recruit support for additional funding by showcasing the agency's capability to deliver customer-focused improvements.  He bailed when the Missouri voters rejected a major fuel tax increase in a referendum.  Now the thin overlays are breaking up, several other funding initiatives have failed, and MoDOT has essentially given up new capital construction.

I think, but have not double-checked, that Rahn was also responsible for design-build becoming a standard method of working in both New Mexico and Missouri.  I can't remember whether NM 44 was a design-build job, but I-40/Coors definitely was, and I think the I-64 expansion in St. Louis also occurred during Rahn's tenure.

[cpzilliacus]

Thanks for your commentary.  It is infinitely more than what I knew before about him.