Sandycreek man named PennDOT district leader

From staff reports

A Sandycreek Township man has been named district executive for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Northwest region.

Brian McNulty is responsible for overseeing all functions in PennDOT District 1, which serves Venango, Crawford, Erie, Forest, Mercer and Warren counties.

McNulty is leading a team of more than 800 employees who are dedicated to the maintenance, preservation and construction of nearly 4,000 miles of highway and 2,066 bridges.

“Over the years, Brian has proven himself as a leader within PennDOT at the district and statewide levels,” said PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian. “In his work as a planner for the department, he built a reputation as an excellent communicator with strong customer service skills. PennDOT will benefit from those attributes, as well as his focus on continuous improvement and increased efficiencies throughout the agency,” Gramian said.

McNulty started his professional career in the private sector working on design projects in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland. In 2009, he joined PennDOT as a civil engineer trainee on a District 10 bridge team. He came to District 1 in 2011 and worked several years within the design liaison unit as a project manager.

He subsequently advanced to a senior civil engineer supervisor position in the bridge unit as a squad leader and later worked as the civil engineer manager in charge of the planning and programming section.

In 2017, he was appointed the assistant district executive of design.

McNulty is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in civil and environmental engineering in 2007 with a concentration in structural engineering. He has been a registered professional engineer in Pennsylvania since 2011.

He is a member of the American Society of Highway Engineers and completed the Leadership Venango program in 2019.

McNulty succeeds Jim Foringer of Moon Township, who retired from the position in June after more than 35 years with the department.

McNulty lives in Sandycreek Township with his wife, Katie, and their four children.

Sugarcreek man promoted

Meanwhile, Dax Nulph of Sugarcreek Borough has been promoted to assistant district executive of construction for PennDOT District 1.

In his new role, Nulph is responsible for 75 employees, and he will oversee state and federal construction projects in the six counties within District 1.

The 2020 construction schedule for the Northwest region includes about $178 million for 60 projects, including 22 roadway, 16 bridge, seven safety and 15 local projects.

Nulph started his career with PennDOT as a civil engineer trainee in District 1 in 1998. He has nearly 21 years of construction project supervision and management experience, including eight years as a field inspector-in-charge and 12 years as an assistant construction engineer supervising work in Crawford, Forest and Warren counties.

His other work experiences at PennDOT include a temporary assignment as the construction services engineer, an acting highway design squad leader and assisting with work for contract management, maintenance and the finals unit.

He is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in civil and environmental engineering with a concentration in structural engineering.

He is a registered professional engineer in Pennsylvania and is a member of the American Society of Highway Engineers. He also has completed PennDOT’s executive development program.

Nulph resides in Franklin with his wife, Jen, and stepson, Bryce.

He succeeds Mike Deibert, who retired in April after 35 years with the department.