PennDOT has named a Lackawanna County native with extensive transportation engineering experience to lead the agency's Dunmore-based District 4.
Jonathan A. Eboli began his career in District 4 in 2010 as a civil engineer trainee and progressed through multiple positions before being named the state's chief executive for highway administration in March 2025.
His appointment to the new post takes effect Feb. 14.
Eboli, 39, grew up in Dunmore, a few blocks from the District 4 office in the Keystone Industrial Park.
"It brings me to seven minutes from my homestead," he said of the new job.
He succeeds Richard N. Roman, the former District 4 executive who died in November.
"It is something that I wanted to do in my career. I was just hoping that it was six years from now when Rich Roman retired," Eboli said of the district executive role.
"Rich and I had talked a lot about the district executive role and how much he enjoyed it," Eboli said.
"He was the one to encourage me to do different things with the department and to go to Harrisburg and learn more there," Eboli added.
"Obviously his untimely passing has been very difficult for everyone, including me. He was a friend, mentor, all the above to me."
Education and background
A 2005 Dunmore High School graduate, Eboli earned dual bachelor of science degrees in civil engineering and architectural engineering from Drexel University.
His career at PennDOT included managing assignments in the design, construction and maintenance divisions, including civil engineer for bridges, senior civil engineer supervisor, assistant construction engineer and acting senior civil engineer manager.
Eboli also previously served as acting district executive in King of Prussia-based District 6, and acting chief executive in Central Office.
He was named District 4’s assistant district executive for maintenance in 2020, followed by his promotion to chief executive for highway administration last year.
The son of Jan and Steve Eboli of Dunmore, Eboli and his wife Jessica have three children: Gracie, Nathan and Nico.
'A very large district'
District 4, which covers Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties, has 4,000 miles of roads, 2,100 bridges and over 800 employees, Eboli said.
"It's a very large district. You know, being in the Philadelphia region [District 6] and having an opportunity to act [as director] there, I have an appreciation for bigger districts, and District 4 is certainly one of them," he said.
District 4 undertook $892 million worth of work in 2025, including 52 projects put out to bid, approximately 578 miles of paving and roadway maintenance, 49 bridges repaired or replaced and 10,456 line-miles of road painted, PennDOT officials said.
Those projects included reopening the Interstate 84 "twin bridges" in Roaring Brook and Scranton's Green Ridge Street Bridge to traffic in Lackawanna County, while in Luzerne County district work included the $4.7 million Fort Jenkins Bridge preservation project in West Pittston ahead of its ultimate replacement, the $1.4 million Route 115 bridge rehabilitation project in Plains Twp. and a $3.2 million bridge replacement on Route 2041 over Bear Creek in Bear Creek Twp.
The work never ends, and more major projects are planned in 2026 and the years to come.
"There's going to be a large project in the Dunmore area on Interstate 81. We're going to be doing some concrete slab work and other paving work there, you know. And a lot of other jobs are continuing," Eboli said.
There is work still to do on several of the projects mentioned above, including the Twin Bridges, Green Ridge Street Bridge and several of the Luzerne County projects.
"You also have the design phase of Ashley to the arena on Interstate 81. That's another large project. So really, the Luzerne County area is going to see a lot of work in 2026 and beyond," Eboli added.
His overall philosophy and priority for the district?
"My priorities really are about safety for the traveling public, both in the summer and in the winter, and then also making sure that we're engaging the public with our transportation projects," he said.
"That means public meetings. That means answering customer care concerns and really acting with urgency in everything that we do," he said.
"You know, to me, it's really important to get back to people quickly when they ask us for something, and that may just mean reaching out and saying, 'Yes, we got your concern. This is when we're going to expect to get back to you,' right? It should be that that initial response, that they know that we're on it, and we're going to get back to them if it's something we don't know immediately."
Eboli is no stranger to safety and public engagement.
In 2024, for example, he was key to delivering the district's message during Operation Yellow Jacket, a statewide enforcement and awareness program designed to remind motorists about slowing down and remaining alert in work zones.
He recounted an incident on the Casey Highway in Lackawanna County where a vehicle was caught going 93 mph in a work zone.
"Our message to the public is drive through every work zone like a member of your family is working there," Eboli said then.
Snowstorm's aftermath
Eboli feels the entire department's preparations and response around last weekend's snowstorm were a good example of public service and public engagement.
The storm swept across much of the state, dropping between 10 and 15 inches in many parts of Northeast Pennsylvania and up to 20 inches in some places.
Eboli noted how state Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll along with state police and emergency preparedness leaders took to the airwaves last Friday for a press conference ahead of Sunday's storm letting all state residents know how much snow was expected, what they were doing to prepare and asking people to stay off the roads at the height of the storm.
It was a message that officials said was largely heeded, which likely saved lives.
Carroll also offered some memorable advice to Pennsylvanians during that Friday afternoon press conference.
"My preference would be a Sunday stay home day — watch the NFL games, despite the fact that the Eagles and Steelers are not playing," Carroll said.
"I think the secretary has a great way of being down to earth during those press events," Eboli said. "He got a lot of feedback on that because it was something people could relate to — like, all right, maybe we'll just shut down for the day. Maybe we'll just stay home. And they did."
Widespread compliance, reinforced through restrictions on state and interstate highways, allowed PennDOT crews to clear the roads more efficiently, officials have said.
"Credit to our maintenance personnel and the maintenance division. You know, really, as the governor said, they're unsung heroes. They don't really get any recognition," Eboli said.
"Typically, it could just be complaints, right? But when storms go well, when commercial vehicles adhere to our tier two restrictions, when the public heeds our warnings ahead of an event, and, you know, we come out of that with, you know, minimal accidents, and we're able to keep our roads safe and passable — to me, that was a success, and I think that's what you saw statewide," he added.
There was one other element that helped avert worse problems.
"Timing was certainly on our side, being on a Sunday," Eboli said. "And you know that that could easily be a different situation during the week, that type of storm.
Remembering Roman's legacy
As Eboli prepares to take over PennDOT's top job in his hometown, he and the staff have pledged to honor the work done by his predecessor Roman.
"It's obviously very bittersweet here," he said.
Roman, a Hazleton native, joined PennDOT in 1997 as a transportation construction inspector. He earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Penn State University with a minor in civil engineering. He went on to earn a master's degree in public administration and became a licensed professional engineer in 2002.
Roman held various road program and civil engineering jobs before becoming director of PennDOT's Bureau of Maintenance and Operations in 2014.
He was named District 4's acting director following the January 2019 retirement of George Roberts. He got the job permanently that September.
"We're going to be doing a memorial award in honor of Rich in the springtime, and it is going to be presented to one person statewide that really exemplifies all of Rich's attributes," Eboli said.
Roman's parents and family will be on hand to present that award, he added.
"That's something that is going to really continue on his legacy," Eboli added. "People in 20 years that didn't even meet Rich will know what Rich Roman stood for and what he did for PennDOT."
