Scott Eades also talks about his career during News-Press interview
Caltrans District 5 Director Scott Eades
Scott Eades has been named the new director of Caltrans District 5.
The district covers Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties.
Mr. Eades is succeeding Tim Gubbins, who retired in 2022.
“I have worked in a range of different functions in Caltrans, which has given me a lot of insight and experience in this business and I have a lot of time working for Caltrans,” Mr. Eades told the News-Press. “As we have been through a lot of transition, we are a different organization than a decade ago. I am incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to move into this role.”
Mr. Eades has almost 30 years of experience working in transportation planning, engineering and project management. Since August 2020, Mr. Eades has served as the deputy director for transportation planning, local assistance and sustainability in District 5.
He also worked in Caltrans headquarters as the statewide SB 1 program manager in an acting role in the spring of 2022.
The News-Press asked Mr. Eades about the scope and duties of the position. “We maintain the highway system and do project development looking into the future. The planning process coordinates with regional transportation agencies and plans for future needs and seeks funding.
“Project functions include design, hydraulics, environmental and engineering design, etc. We are also constantly inspecting bridges, and culverts and measuring the performance of these systems. Additionally, we respond to emergencies, and the last couple of months have been challenging on that front.”
Mr. Eades said the district’s work goes beyond highways. “We are more and more looking at other modes and ways to accommodate cyclists, pedestrians, and transit users, and we consider rail and transit options while making sure all users and modes are considered. We also make sure that aviation is functioning well.”
Mr. Eades spoke to his goals in this position. “Our top priorities are safety for not only the traveling public but also the safety of workers on the front lines maintaining and improving the system, including maintenance and construction workers.
“Distracted driving is a big problem. We have seen speed increase in recent years, perhaps because of extra capacity on the highways due to COVID,” Mr. Eades said. “In the work zones, we need to make sure workers are protected and make it home to their families every night. We are monitoring systems to see if there are crash hot spots, where there is a higher crash history, and we look at ways to improve those.
“We are always monitoring and making sure those areas with above-average crashes and how to mitigate that. We are looking at how to accommodate all users, those that want to walk, bike, take transit, or rail, and make sure those get due consideration. Equity is a new focus as well when we think about the historical context of the highways. Highways can divide communities, and we are looking at ways to reconnect them, especially in underserved communities or smaller and disadvantaged communities.”
Previously, Mr. Eades served as the Santa Barbara 101 corridor manager where he worked with internal and external teams to deliver a large ($700 million-plus) multimodal capital improvement program.
In this role, Mr. Eades led teams through California Environmental Quality Act challenges, Local Coastal Plan Amendment approvals, coastal permitting, Federal Highway Administration Major Project processes, and the first Construction Manager/General Contractor delivery in District 5.
The News-Press asked Mr. Eades about the South Coast work on Highway 101.
“It is a substantial program of projects,” he said. “The goal is to provide full connectivity with HOV (high-occupancy vehicle) lanes in both directions and to have three continuous lanes in each direction from Goleta down to Ventura city. We just need to secure the final funding. The way that big project gets done is by commingling funding sources and competing for competitive funding sources.
“The Santa Barbara County Association of Governments has done a terrific job on that. It is critical to have matching funding sources and to have projects shovel-ready. It’s a pretty appealing project from a competitive funding standpoint.”
In earlier roles, Mr. Eades worked as a Caltrans project manager in District 5, a transportation engineer in District 5 Traffic operations, a transportation planner for the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments and a student assistant in District 5 transportation planning.
Mr. Eades also spoke to netting catching debris by the Gaviota Tunnel on Highway 101. “That is an emergency project which occurred through the January storms. We are in the process of pulling that debris out and putting up rock netting to stabilize that.”
The News-Press asked Mr. Eades about the work on State Route 154 in the Santa Ynez Valley.
“We are constantly evaluating the need for safety improvements based on crash history. Currently, there are no substantial lane widening projects changing the look of what is out there. We have been in emergency response mode.”
Mr. Eades spoke about debris removal from State Route 154 during the storm. Efforts include debris flow, clogged culverts, and removal of debris material that ended up in lanes.
Mr. Eades also indicated there will be upcoming projects in Lompoc and Guadalupe as well as beautification projects under the Clean California Program including projects in New Cuyama and Santa Maria.
Mr. Eades holds a bachelor’s of science in city and regional planning and a master’s of science in civil and environmental engineering, both from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He is also a certified project management professional and recently completed Caltrans Leadership Training Program II.
“A good portion of my experience was working on projects in Santa Barbara County,” Mr. Eades told the News-Press. “I was the project manager for some time on several projects and did a lot of early work on what is now the SB 101 South Coast Corridor Project. I have enjoyed working with local partners such as public works and SBCAG.
“It has been a great career working with so many terrific professionals. I’m honored to have this position.”
email: kzehnder@newspress.com
