Transportation 2023: STEPHEN C. BRICH

Appointed in 2018, Brich manages about 7,700 VDOT employees and an $8 billion annual budget.

The nation’s third largest transportation agency, VDOT opened Interstate 66’s new express toll lanes outside the Capitol Beltway ahead of schedule last year. In Hampton Roads, VDOT is working on the biggest transportation project in state history, the $3.8 billion Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel expansion. Halfway finished, the project is about a year behind schedule for its 2025 goal.

VDOT oversees all stages of Virginia’s transportation systems — almost 58,000 miles of road, 21,000 bridges and other structures, six tunnels and three ferry systems — from design to maintenance and operation. Virginia’s highways were ranked No. 1 in the nation this year for cost-effectiveness and condition by the Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank.

A graduate of Old Dominion University and the University of Virginia, Brich has 30 years of experience at VDOT and in the private sector, specializing in traffic engineering, safety, operations, transportation planning and research.

IF I HAD A TIME MACHINE, I’D MEET: Ronald Reagan was the Great Communicator. He communicated to address tough issues and had a way of connecting with audiences. He also knew how to pull the right people together to help solve issues.