Gray Appoints New DDOT Director

Mayor Vincent Gray is appointing a new director of the D.C. Department of Transportation at his weekly news conference Wednesday.

Gray decided to make Terry Bellamy, the interim director since the departure of Gabe Klein, permanent.

Formerly with Arlington County Transportation, Bellamy was Klein's well-respected deputy director of operations. He was involved in a wide range of department issues, including streets, bicycle lanes, streetcars and transportation signage.

The Gray appointment continues a pattern in which Gray has retained several key officials from the Adrian Fenty administration, most notably Kaya Henderson as schools chancellor. Henderson had been the principal deputy to Michelle Rhee.

Bellamy has a full agenda of issues. In addition to those above, the city is in the midst of several major transportation projects, including the 11th Street Bridge, the New York Avenue Bridge at Florida Avenue and a long list of street repavings.

DDOT has seen a handful of officials leave to join Klein, who now is transportation director for Chicago.

WTOP reporter Adam Tuss talked with Klein in Chicago. He praised Bellamy as “very low key ... but a ton of skills.”

Klein, himself, was a hard-charging director and he acknowledged that to WTOP: “I was the Michelle Rhee of transportation and Terry balanced me out.”

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