The Chief Engineer with the Alabama's Department of Transportation has retired after a 46-year career.
Don Vaughn said he wanted to be a veterinarian when he finished high school in 1966, but a summer job with the Department of Transportation started him on a new career path.
Vaughn says the three biggest changes in his long career were the shift in technology from pen and ink designs to computer designs, the increased emphasis on environmental issues, and the change in funding.
Vaughn joined DOT when the interstate construction program was in its heyday and budgets were virtually unlimited. He leaves during a time of decreasing funding when the emphasis is on maintaining existing roads rather than building new ones.