Joyce McGowan has been named residency administrator for the Saluda Residency of the Virginia Department of Transportation.

McGowan will be in charge of nearly 100 employees, VDOT spokesperson Kelly Hannon said. Crews in her charge are tasked with maintaining more than 1,750 miles of state roads total in the counties of Gloucester, Mathews, Middlesex, King and Queen, King William and Essex.

“After serving as Assistant Saluda Residency Administrator for the past nine years, Joyce is familiar with every facet of VDOT maintenance and operations in the Middle Peninsula region,” said Marcie Parker, VDOT Fredericksburg District Administrator. “Her experience makes her uniquely suited to working with localities and residents to find context-sensitive solutions that enhance safety, promote economic development, protect the environment, and reduce congestion.”

The Fredericksburg District includes the Saluda Residency, the Northern Neck Residency (located in Richmond County, which oversees road maintenance and emergency operations in the counties of Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, Westmoreland and King George), and the Fredericksburg Residency (which oversees the counties of Caroline, Spotsylvania and Stafford).

McGowan was the co-manager for VDOT’s emergency response in the Middle Peninsula for the past decade, Hannon said, including back-to-back snowstorms in the winter of 2010 and the tornado debris cleanup of April 2011.

Prior to serving as assistant residency administrator, McGowan was VDOT’s contract manager at the Saluda Residency for five years. She joined VDOT in 1994 in Richmond as a federal submissions officer in the VDOT Central Office, making sure projects received federal funding reimbursements.

McGowan is enrolled in a combined bachelor’s degree and master’s degree program at Virginia Commonwealth University.

She resides in West Point with her husband and daughter.