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N.D. (AP) – North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple has appointed a longtime Department of Transportation engineer as the agency’s new director.

Grant Levi was appointed Wednesday. He succeeds Francis Ziegler, who retired last November after working for the department for 42 years, the last six as director. The Transportation Department is one of the state’s largest agencies. It has more than 1,060 employees, and a budget over the next two years of more than $2.8 billion. 

Levi has worked for the agency for more than 30 years. He’s 53 years old, and a native of Zeeland in south-central North Dakota. He says the department’s priority is to “safely move people and goods across the state.”