Neal McCaleb, Oklahoma first Secretary of Transportation under the administration of Gov. Henry Bellmon died Thursday.
He was 90 and was also Transportation Secretary in the Frank Keating administration.
McCaleb, who served eight years in the Oklahoma House of Representatives and four of them as the GOP House minority leader, later went on to become Director of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.
Both ODOT and the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority issued a statement on Thursday stating that under McCaleb’s iconic leadership “ODOT and OTA have been forever changed for the better, realizing significant strides in transportation infrastructure improvements.”
McCaleb was the first to be director at both the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the Oklahoma Transportation Authority while serving as a cabinet secretary. Spanning three decades, he applied his extensive knowledge to shaping Oklahoma’s highways, interstates and turnpikes, following the legacy of his father, Burt, who served as ODOT Chief Engineer.
McCaleb was instrumental in the development of the Capital Improvement Program, known as the Billion Dollar Road Program for the improvement of state highways having been allocated funding from the governor and Legislature in 1997 and 1998 and oversaw bringing Amtrak passenger rail service back to Oklahoma. He expanded turnpike mileage with the John Kilpatrick Turnpike in Oklahoma City, Creek Turnpike in Tulsa and Chickasaw Turnpike near Ada/Sulphur; and developed advanced electronic toll collection using the PIKEPASS system; among many other accomplishments.
A member of the Chickasaw tribe, McCaleb was named in 2001 by President George W. Bush to be Assistant Secretary of the Interior. He was administrator of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
McCaleb also served on the Indian Reservation Economies Commission when he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan.
He eventually became a special advisor to Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby and was the Chickasaw Ambassador-at-Large.
“We have lost a tremendous statesman and a true visionary with the death of Neal McCaleb,” said Attorney General Gentner Drummond.
“He was a proud Oklahoman and a proud member of the Chickasaw Nation, working on behalf of his state and his tribe to benefit us all. His years of advocating for investment in our transportation infrastructure had a profound impact that will last for decades to come. I am thankful for his leadership and his service, and I hope my fellow Oklahomans will join me in celebrating his contributions to our state.”
Funeral services are pending with the Crawford Family Funeral & Cremation Service in Edmond.