Richard D. Land

Chief Engineer
Deputy Director, Project Delivery

Richard "Rick" Land is the Chief Engineer and Deputy Director for Project Delivery for the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).

Land was appointed to the Chief Engineer position in January 2005. As Chief Engineer, Land oversees the engineering and project delivery activities of the Department, which involves approximately 11,000 employees and a Capital Outlay budget that exceeds $5 billion.

A licensed civil engineer, Land has been with Caltrans for more than 28 years, serving in a number of engineering and management positions.

After graduating in 1978 from California State University, Sacramento with a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering, Land went to work for the Department in the Marysville Area (District 3) as an entry level civil engineer. In 1980 he transferred to what was then the Division of Structures and promoted through the ranks to the senior-level working at various positions in Structure Design, Structure Construction and Structure Specifications. Land's management career began in 1993 where he became the Chief of the Structures Special Projects Office. In 1995 he became one of the two Office Chiefs in Structure Design. Prior to his current assignment, from late 2001 through 2004, Land served as Chief of the Department's Structure Design operations and as the Department's State Bridge Engineer. The majority of Mr. Land's career with the Department has been focused on the delivery of transportation improvement projects, from inception to construction complete.