Tony Tavares
District 7 Director
Caltrans
Tony Tavares was appointed in November 2020 as Director of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 7, which encompasses Los Angeles and Ventura counties. As District 7 Director, he oversees transportation systems in a dynamic region that boasts 25% of California’s population; an annual construction program of more than $2 billion; and some of the most innovative solutions to help move people and goods through Southern California (part of the 5th largest economy in the world) throughout the rest of the world.
Tavares’ vision is a modern multimodal transportation system that builds on strong local partnerships and works together with all stakeholders to achieve a shared goal of toward zero deaths (Vison Zero). All local communities and organizations must be heard and share in the development of Caltrans projects, and he encourages a Caltrans culture of creative thinking, innovation, and stakeholder engagement in delivering transportation solutions.
Most recently, he served as Caltrans Bay Area Director (District 4) where he was instrumental in implementing California’s landmark Senate Bill 1 (SB1), the Road Repair and Accountability Act. Tavares also led Caltrans’ visions as he served on several boards of regional transportation planning agencies, joint powers authorities and transit development.
From 2010 to 2018, Tavares served as the statewide Division Chief for Maintenance. There, he directed 7,000 multi-disciplinary professional employees with an annual budget allocation of almost $2.2 billion. In the first year of SB1, he also delivered over $1 billion in pavement, bridge, and culvert projects.
Tavares is a member of AASHTO, WASHTO-SCOM, TRB and NCHRP, and he has chaired several task groups to implement innovative strategies at the national level.
Tavares has also held executive leadership roles at Caltrans as the Division Chief for Right of Way and Land Surveys, North Region Deputy Director for Structure Construction, Deputy Division Chief for Construction, and District 10 Director. In 2013, Tony was awarded the Pavement Pioneer Award from the National Asphalt Pavement Association for his contribution in perpetual pavement projects.
Tavares is a graduate of University of California, Davis, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. He is a Professional Engineer (PE) and a Project Management Professional (PMP).
