Some career paths follow a clear direction from the start. Others take shape through a series of unexpected opportunities and experiences. For Shanté A. Hastings, Secretary of Transportation at the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT), a childhood aptitude for math led to an engineering career that eventually brought her to the top of the department.
As a child, Hastings loved math and excelled in the subject. In high school, a math teacher recognized her skills and helped propel her into advanced math classes early.
Her interest eventually led Hastings to major in engineering after she learned the field would let her use math and science, another passion of hers.
“I didn't really know what I wanted to do,” she said. “And I thought, ‘Well, if people that are good in math and science do engineering, then I guess that's what I'll do.’”
When it came time to choose a college, Hastings had her mind set on one school but ultimately decided on the University of Delaware after receiving a full scholarship. She was not, however, the first person in her family to attend the school. Hastings’ great-grandfather graduated in 1952, becoming the university’s first African American male graduate. He encouraged Hastings to attend his alma mater.
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Hastings said she majored in civil engineering because when she looked at “all of the different facets of engineering back in high school, it seemed like the one that was most broad.”
During Hastings’ junior year at the University of Delaware, Anne Canby, who was then DelDOT’s Secretary of Transportation, gave a presentation to one of her classes.
“I was fascinated. ... The Department of Transportation sounded like a great place to work,” Hastings said.
Hastings applied for and secured a summer internship with DelDOT. She enjoyed working on a construction project as an intern, so she applied for a full-time position with the department and began her career as an entry-level engineer in 2000.
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Hastings has remained with the department ever since.
In 2016, while serving as Deputy Director of Transportation Solutions, Hastings participated in Leadership Delaware, a year-long program that brings together leaders from all different sectors such as private, public, and nonprofit. The program provides participants with a broader understanding of how government and the private sector operate.
“Over the course of that year, I realized that I had kind of put a glass ceiling on myself, which I didn't know because the highest level I aspired to was Chief Engineer,” Hastings said. “Through doing that program, I realized that I could be Deputy Secretary and maybe Secretary.”
Since then, Hastings has held all three roles. In fact, she was the first person to serve as Deputy Secretary and Chief Engineer simultaneously.
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Throughout her tenure at DelDOT and particularly since she became Secretary, Hastings has focused on several priorities, including workforce development and innovation.
The interest in workforce development stems from Hastings’ time as an intern. At one point, DelDOT’s internship program fell by the wayside. About a decade ago, Hastings revived it.
Today, the program has 60 college and high school students who work with DelDOT each summer. The program has helped DelDOT meet some of its workforce challenges, as some of the students have gone on to join the department.
“Being able to get high school students interested, and then helping support them as they go through college, and then making those connections between what they're learning in class and how it’s applied in the real world … is really special for me,” Hastings said.
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The department also started a leadership academy in 2014, which Hastings has worked on from the beginning.
“Being able to develop leaders who have gone on to take important leadership positions within the department has been really wonderful,” she said.
Delaware is the second-smallest state in the country by land mass and the 45th smallest by population, yet DelDOT is responsible for a broad range of transportation infrastructure and services. The department maintains 90 percent of the state’s public roads, operates the Division of Motor Vehicles, and oversees the state’s public transportation, which includes commuter rail (operated by SEPTA) and one ferry.
“With all that ownership in a small state, we're able to try new things,” Hastings said. “We’re always trying to be innovative and quickly figure out what works and what doesn't and then deploy it throughout the state.”
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One way that DelDOT is being innovative is by embracing AI.
“We’re trying to figure out how AI can help us be more efficient and effective while making sure we're being responsible in how we apply it,” Hastings said. “We're using it in small doses and trying to see where the future takes us.”
In the field, DelDOT uses AI and machine learning tools in the traffic signal space to make signals operate as efficiently as possible.
The department has also been an innovator and early adopter of new approaches. This includes accelerated bridge construction, as well as using ultra-high-performance concrete, prefabrication, and other bridge elements to deliver projects faster.
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Hastings noted that DelDOT was the first DOT in the country to deploy e-ticketing to help collect data from paving operations. The department has since expanded its use of the technology to improve work zone safety.
“It’s important to do this type of work and continue to be innovative as the future of transportation continues to evolve,” Hastings said.
Delaware’s population distribution presents a distinct set of transportation challenges. Wilmington, the state’s largest city by population, has just over 70,000 residents. However, much of the state is suburban, with smaller urban areas and rural communities also requiring transportation services.
“We’re very suburban for the most part, while there's very little urban, and a decent amount of rural as well,” Hastings said. “This requires us to deliver transit in a different way that makes sense and meets everyone’s needs.”
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DelDOT is advancing projects across the state, including:
- I-95 and Route 896 Interchange: The largest single contract in the department's history will improve a high-crash, congested location while creating an important non-motorized connection between Newark and Glasgow.
- East and West Camden Bypass: Two projects will remove heavy truck traffic through downtown and support existing and future development in the area.
- Grade-separated interchange at Route 113 and Routes 18 and 404: This project will improve a key intersection for residents, businesses, visitors, freight, and emergency services in Sussex County.
- Georgetown-to-Lewes Trail: The 17-mile trail will provide a low-stress route for pedestrians and cyclists traveling to the coastal areas for work and recreation.
- Minos Conaway Road Grade Separated Intersection Project: The project will use existing and new infrastructure to separate local and through trips in the busy coastal area.
- Roundabout construction: By the end of 2026, Delaware will have more than 40 roundabouts, with seven being constructed this year.
The projects address several of the department’s goals, including accommodating population growth, improving safety and multimodal transportation, expanding microtransit, and increasing local connections.
These efforts align with four department priorities: safety, asset management, multimodal transportation, and resiliency.
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“Safety is always No. 1 — and that means for vehicles, pedestrians, bikes, and transit riders,” Hastings said.
Resiliency has also become an increasingly important consideration, particularly because of Delaware’s low elevation and exposure to flooding. The state has the lowest mean elevation of any state in the country.
Hastings noted that flooding can occur even without a major storm, including during sunny weather, and that tidal cycles and wind direction also affect conditions.
“Even when the wind blows too hard in the wrong direction, we get flooding,” she said.
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Hastings has added a focus on DelDOT’s role in the state’s economy since assuming her position. She created a division of economic development coordination.
“We had different people that would review plans that were going to be constructed versus the people who oversaw the construction of them, which wasn’t efficient,” Hastings said. “We brought all those folks together under one division to be able to help the development community see a unified voice when it came to DelDOT.”
To shore up funding, DelDOT recently established its tolls group as an independent division.
“Tolling is one of our three main revenue sources, and so being able to innovate in that space and have enough oversight is essential,” Hastings said.
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DelDOT also recently reinstituted a sustainable transportation funding task force through an executive order from Governor Matt Meyer. Its purpose is to review sustainable funding opportunities, whether through existing DelDOT fees or new revenue streams, while also identifying efficiencies the department can use to reduce costs.
From her early interest in math to her first engineering position and eventual appointment as Secretary, Hastings has built a career focused on delivering and maintaining transportation infrastructure throughout Delaware.
Her priorities now extend across workforce development, innovation, infrastructure maintenance, safety, resiliency, and funding. As DelDOT continues to address the state’s transportation needs, Hastings is drawing on more than two decades of experience within the department she first joined as an intern.
