The N.C. Department of Transportation has a new leader for its highway division responsible for Bladen, Columbus, Cumberland, Robeson and Harnett counties.
Drew Cox was named this week to become the new Division 6 engineer – a position that oversees 360 employees and maintains over 13,000 lane miles of roadway across the five-county region.
A licensed professional engineer and graduate of N.C. State University, Cox has worked for NCDOT for 29 years. He has risen through the department, working in several different capacities that began as an assistant district engineer. In 2017, he was elevated to be the Division 6 maintenance engineer. (His picture is attached to this release.)
“I am so proud to be a part of a talented team that works hard serving the public and improving our transportation network,” Cox said Friday. “I am very humbled to lead these dedicated folks in our division.”
Cox succeeds Greg Burns, who was promoted last month to become the Eastern Deputy Chief Engineer. In his new capacity, Burns oversees half of the department’s 14 highway divisions, including Division 6. Burns had led Division 6 since 2007.
Grady Hunt, the Division 6 representative on the state’s Board of Transportation, congratulated Cox.
“Drew has been a critical part of our division’s leadership for several years, and I know he’ll continue to be a great asset to the communities we serve in our region of the state,” Hunt said.
Division 6 is based in Fayetteville and is responsible for such functions as highway and bridge planning, construction, maintenance and traffic services. To learn more, view the Division 6 2021 Guide.
The announcement about Cox and Burns are among several leadership changes in NCDOT. Wanda Austin this week became only the second woman to be named a division engineer for NCDOT. Austin was appointed as the engineer for Sylva-based Division 14. She replaces Brian Burch, who was promoted to be the agency’s western deputy chief engineer.
