The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) is celebrating National Engineers Week, which is about celebrating today’s achievements and paving the way for a brighter and more diverse future in engineering.
In the East Central Region, which spans 12 counties, Region Engineer DeJarvis Leonard has worked with ALDOT since 1979.
Born in Birmingham and raised in Coosa County, Leonard graduated from Coosa County High School in 1977. While beginning his work with ALDOT, he received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering technology from Alabama A&M and a second bachelor’s in civil engineering from Auburn University.
He and his wife, Karen have been married for over 40 years and have three children and four grandchildren.
Leonard has held many positions with ALDOT throughout the years. These positions were Project Inspector/Survey Crewman, Assistant Project Engineer, Project Engineer, District Engineer in Madison County, and Assistant Division Engineer for County Transportation, in the former First Division. For 16 years, he served as a Division Engineer for the former Fourth Division.
Leonard’s ALDOT duties have included project inspection, project engineer and district engineer for Huntsville and Madison County.
The East Central Region has a mix of urban construction and all the issues that come with it, traffic congestion and maintenance, which blends into rural areas.
Notable projects include:
- The Birmingham Northern Beltline
- The ever-evolving US-280 corridor
- The I-22 Interchange with I-65 near Fultondale
- I-59 in Trussville
- Widening on I-65 in Alabaster
- I-565 in Huntsville
- I-431 in Anniston
- I-59/20 (City Walk) bridge redo through the heart of downtown Birmingham
