Federal highway official is named state transportation chief

04/21/2008

Star Tribune staff writers
Last update: April 21, 2008 - 11:20 AM


Gov. Tim Pawlenty has named Tom Sorel, administrator of the Minnesota Division of the Federal Highway Administation, to be Commissioner of the state Department of Transportation. Sorel replaces Bob McFarlin, who had been acting commissioner since Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau was ousted from the position by the state Senate in February. She continues in her elected office.

The office Sorel has headed is responsible for the delivery of the Federal-aid Highway Program to state and local transportation agencies in Minnesota. The state Department of Transportation is the primary recipient of nearly all Federal-aid highway funds in Minnesota, but much of the funding is passed through to local agencies or other organizations throughout the state.

Sorel has led the Federal Highway Administration's Minnesota office since 2005 and has worked for the federal department for almost three decades. He served as the Transportation Department's liaison during the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.

The department came under heightened scrutiny after the Interstate 35W bridge collapse last summer. In March, a month after being named interim chief, having been a top aide to Molnau, McFarlin closed the aging DeSoto Bridge on Hwy. 23 in St. Cloud when bent connector plates were found during inspections. Earlier this month the department announced the bridge will be replaced, along with the troubled Hwy. 61 bridge in Hastings, with construction to start in 2010.

The safety of both bridges had been an issue of mounting concern after the Aug. 1 collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis. The decisions to replace the bridges has been seen in some quarters as a sign of increased urgency at the agency.

The new commissioner is subject to Senate confirmation, but there's no requirement that a vote take place this year.