The Leavitt-Walker administration redefined transportation in the State of Utah from its earliest days. In January 1993, Governor Michael O. Leavitt determined that a course change was needed at the Department of Transportation and appointed W. Craig Zwick as its executive director. It was a move calculated to restore public confidence in an agency that Governor Leavitt knew would play a significant role in addressing the needs of the citizens of the state. Craig Zwick came to the agency with years of private sector construction experience having owned Zwick Construction up until a few years before his appointment. He had just completed serving as a mission president for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and came to the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) with fresh ideas and an enthusiasm that energized the employees and changed the very nature of the agency. At the time of Craig Zwick’s appointment the deputy director of UDOT was Howard Richardson, a long-time employee of the agency. Within the year, Howard retired and Clint D Topham was appointed to serve in this role. It was the Zwick Topham combination that launched UDOT on its course to becoming one of the most admired and (more…)
