Justin Hernandez was announced as the Director of Design in April 2024, after holding the title of Bridge Engineer for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation in April 2021.

Hernandez began his career with ODOT in 2002 as an engineer in training. In 2003, he joined Bridge Division as a design engineer. In 2011, Hernandez transitioned to be a project engineer for field districts in central, north-central and northwest Oklahoma. He was then named assistant bridge engineer in 2016, where he directly affected the design and construction for both local and state bridge structures statewide.

Hernandez has spent his entire career contributing to the department’s achievement of a Top Ten national ranking for highway bridge conditions, improving from a low ranking of 49th in 2004 and rising to No. 9 in 2020. During his time with the department, Hernandez has been responsible for the design of bridge projects of all types, in locations across the state, including for the Pharaoh Award-winning SH-33 bridge over Cottonwood Creek in Guthrie.

Hernandez received his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Oklahoma State University in 2001.