MoDOT board names new chairman to succeed local lawyer

Last edited 12:49 p.m., Feb. 13, 2014

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission is flip-flopping the roles of two high-ranking board officers, including a Springfield attorney.

Effective March 1, Stephen Miller, a partner in Kanas City law firm Miller Schirger LLC, will serve as commission chairman for a one-year term, succeeding Springfield lawyer Joe Carmichael, who will assume Miller's role as vice chairman. The commission, which serves as the governing board of the state Department of Transportation, voted to switch the roles, a common practice, on Feb. 11, according to a news release.

Carmichael, president and managing partner of Carmichael & Neal PC, has served on the commission since April 2009, and Miller was appointed to the governing board in August 2009. Carmichael, whose term expires in March 2015, began his term as chairman March 6, 2013.

“Steve and Joe have a keen understanding of the stark reality we face,” MoDOT Director Dave Nichols said in the release. “I look forward to working with them as we tackle some big challenges, most notably how we are going to fund transportation at the state and federal levels for the long term.”

On Feb. 11, the commission approved a 20-year plan for MoDOT, though officials noted the department has little chance of pulling it off with its current funding levels. MoDOT's governing commission warns the state transportation department's construction budget will soon fall below the minimum $485 million per year needed to keep road and bridges in satisfactory condition, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.