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The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission recently appointed Dave Nichols director of the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) to succeed Kevin Keith, who took a medical leave of absence in late March.

A department employee for more than 29 years, Nichols has served as interim MoDOT director since March 21. He has held various leadership roles, including stints as chief engineer, district engineer and MoDOT's first director of program delivery.

"Dave Nichols has the talent, skills and experience needed to be a successful leader for MoDOT," said Commission Chairman Joe Carmichael in a press release. "The commission has unanimously agreed that a prolonged search for a new director was unnecessary."

Meanwhile, the Washington State Senate has confirmed Dave Danner as chairman of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC). He will serve a six-year term that expires on Dec. 31, 2018.

Danner has served as the UTC's executive director since 2005. He previously was an energy and telecommunications policy adviser to Gov. Gary Locke, a member of the state’s pollution control and shorelines hearings boards, and an attorney in private practice.

The three-member UTC manages the state’s railroad, pipeline, and intrastate bus and trucking safety programs.