OIL CITY, PA. PennDOT appoints new district engineer

William G. Petit succeeds John Baker, who ran the district for 14 years.
OIL CITY, Pa. -- The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has appointed William G. Petit as district engineer for the six-county region of District 1.
Petit succeeds John L. Baker, who retired from the post effective Sunday after 14 years as district engineer.
The district covers Mercer, Crawford, Venango, Warren, Forest and Erie counties.
Achievements: Petit joined PennDOT in 1983 and has held management positions in construction, design and maintenance areas and has worked on a number of high-level projects, including the state Route 18 widening project in Hermitage.
He was awarded PennDOT's highest employee honor, the Secretary's Award for Excellence, in 1997, and serves on the board of directors of the Franklin Section of the American Society of Highway Engineers.
Petit, who holds a bachelor's degree in civil and environmental engineering from Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y., and a master's in business administration from Gannon University in Erie, lives in Erie with his wife and daughter.
Recognition: Baker was nationally recognized for his achievements. He joined PennDOT as an inspector in 1964, became Crawford County maintenance manager in 1981, was appointed acting district engineer in 1987 and district engineer in 1988.
In 2000, he was presented with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Alfred E. Johnson Achievement Award, the highest national honor given to a transportation official.
Under his direction, a group of environmentally-conscious employees formed the District 1 PennDOT Green Team that pushes education and public awareness of sound environmental management.
He lives in Oil City with his wife and three children.