Photo via DDOTThe head of D.C.’s Department of Transportation announced that he’s exiting his position next month.
Leif Dormsjo sent a letter to his staff on Tuesday announcing the resignation after two and a half years on the job.
He’ll officially get off the D.C. government train on August 11 to hop into the private sector at engineering company Louis Berger, according to The Washington Post.
He’s also slated to vacate his spot as an alternate member of Metro’s board of directors.
Dormsjo told the newspaper that he informed Mayor Muriel Bowser of his decision last week. He said she tried to talk him out of it, but it was too late: “I’d made up my mind.”
Still, he told his staffers in the letter that he appreciated the mayor, who “has been a constant and engaged supporter of the agency’s mission to improve safety, deliver vital infrastructure and protect the most vulnerable transportation users.”
One of Dormsjo’s most notable accomplishments has been launching the D.C. Streetcar. The project was introduced over a decade ago, under Anthony Williams’ administration. It finally began serving riders in 2016, and in its first year, the average daily ridership was 2,751, with 906,000 total passengers taking the free rides up and down the H Street Corridor.
Dormsjo also helped Bowser launch D.C.’s Vision Zero plan, which aims to eliminate all traffic-related fatalities by 2024. “We are taking our first step towards realizing a ‘Vision Zero’ where no lives are lost on our streets or at our intersections. Together, we will make the District a safer place to live and travel through,” Dormsjo said at the time.
Bowser lauded Dormsjo in a statement on Tuesday for everything from moving the streetcar forward to working with WMATA to enhance safety on Metro. “Leif is someone who could look at and plan for the big picture while taking care of the day-to-day issues like potholes and alley repairs,” she said, adding that the District “is stronger because of Leif’s leadership, and I thank him for his service to the residents of D.C.”
