Cheryl Moon-Sirianni, who served as the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s district executive for Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence counties for more than five years, has been promoted to the department’s No. 2 job statewide, executive deputy secretary.
Moon-Sirianni will be the top assistant to acting Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll, the former Democratic state representative from Luzerne County. She began her new position on Tuesday.
Carroll, the former minority chairman of the state House Transportation Committee, was appointed by new Gov. Josh Shapiro last month and is awaiting confirmation.
Moon-Sirianni replaced Dan Cessna as the District 11 executive in November 2017. Her tenure was highlighted by the district’s fast action in response to two emergencies and willingness to try new technology.
In April 2018, the department rebuilt a collapsed section of Route 30 in East Pittsburgh in about three months, about half the expected time. Last year, it used an emergency declaration to fast-track the replacement of the Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood after it fell into Frick Park, completing in 11 months a project that would have taken three to five years under normal circumstances.
In 2019, the department replaced Pittsburgh’s Shaler Street Bridge above Saw Mill Run Boulevard by building the new bridge on a nearby vacant lot and moving it into place using hydraulic trailers to avoid closing the highway for months.
In her new job, Moon-Sirianni replaces Melissa Batula, who served as acting executive deputy secretary after the 2021 death of George McAuley. Batula returns to her former position as deputy for highway administration.
Jason Zang, who had been assistant district executive for construction, has been named acting District 11 executive.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.