COLUMBUS -- David Ross, Columbus Subarea Supervisor for the Kansas Department of Transportation, retired this month after more than 28 years of service.

Ross began working for KDOT in 1997. He worked in Pittsburg, where he advanced to Equipment Operator Specialist in 2005, and then Columbus, where he ascended to Subarea Supervisor in November 2011. His brother, John, also served as Columbus Subarea Supervisor, retiring in September 2011.

The lifelong Cherokee County resident said his KDOT career moved quickly, and he’d seen many changes. Advances in machinery improved worker and public safety; air conditioning in trucks and mowers also helped.

He said what he’d learned in his career, he tried to pass on. Ross said he and his crew members dedicated themselves to improving state highways for travelers, and they looked out for one another on job sites. He and his crew shared many laughs.

Ross said he would miss his KDOT family.

“Enjoy your people. You find out that after you’re here long enough, you’re not here for the money, you come for the people. It’s like another family. You spend half of your life with them.

“The people you’ve spent the time with, that’s what you’ll miss. It won’t be the work,” Ross said.

Ross said he plans on spending more time with family in retirement.

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