CLEARFIELD — There will be a leadership change before the end of the month in the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s (PennDOT) Engineering District 2, which covers nine counties in the North Central region.

After serving as District Executive since May of 2016, Karen Michael will retire on Jan. 24, capping a 34-year PennDOT career. Immediately after her retirement, Tom Zurat will begin serving as the new District Executive.

“I’m pleased to have Tom lead the District 2 team,” said Acting PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian. “His experience, leadership, and dedication will be a seamless transition that will benefit our transportation partners across the region.”

Zurat will be responsible for planning and supervising the state highway system in PennDOT’s Engineering District 2 that covers Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Juniata, McKean, Mifflin, and Potter counties. Within the nine counties, PennDOT owns and maintains 3,731 miles of state highway and 2,186 bridges.

“District 2 is home to me and I am honored to step into the DE role here,” Zurat said. “As a team, we will continue to work on delivering transportation projects that bring value to our customers and partners across our nine counties”.

Zurat began his career with PennDOT in 1990 as a civil engineer trainee. Since that time, he has progressed through various engineering positions in District 2, including Highway Design Squad Leader, Plans Engineer, and Portfolio Manager. Most recently, Tom has served as Assistant District Executive for Design.

Zurat graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. He received his Professional Engineer’s license in 1997. Zurat resides in Clearfield with his wife Kristen.