Northeast Georgia has a new Georgia Department of Transportation district engineer.

Bayne E. Smith has taken over for Todd McDuffie, a longtime DOT employee who retired after serving in the post since 2010.

"I am proud to represent the men and women of Georgia DOT as district engineer," Smith said Thursday.

"The strong work ethic and ingenuity of our people are an asset. I look forward to becoming a part of this community and the partnership we will build to improve the efficiency and safety of our transportation network."

As district engineer, Smith will be responsible for preconstruction, construction and maintenance of state routes and interstates in Northeast Georgia. He supervises 430 employees in the 21-county District 1, which is based in Gainesville.

He started the new job on Feb. 16.

"Bayne is detail-oriented and strives to develop a consensus among stakeholders of any issue," Interim DOT Commissioner Keith Golden said. "We are proud that he has returned to the department."

Smith started his career with the DOT and was instrumental in developing Georgia's Intelligent Transportation Management System, known as Georgia Navigator, and served as state traffic signal engineer.

In 2001, Smith joined URS Corp., a consulting firm that provides engineering, construction and technical services for public agencies and private companies around the world.

His last position was vice president of surface transportation for URS' Atlanta office.

Smith earned a Bachelor of Science in math and physics from the University of Georgia and a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Georgia Tech.

He is licensed as a professional engineer and a professional traffic operations engineer. He is one of three Georgia DOT employees to hold both licenses.