Joe Brown, who has served as commissioner of the Suffolk County, N.Y., Department of Public Works, has been hired by Phoenix as the city’s next street transportation director.

Phoenix City Manager Jeff Barton announced the selection following a nationwide search, saying Brown’s "background and many years of experience working with transportation infrastructure will be an important asset as Phoenix continues to grow and improve.

“He also has a proven record with improving roadway safety, which is a critical focus for our community."

Brown has more than 30 years of management and engineering experience in transportation, sanitation, traffic management, structures, construction, maintenance, operations and planning as well as emergency response, according to a release.

Brown managed some of the New York State Department of Transportation’s largest projects in the New York metropolitan area, including reconstruction of the West Side Highway at the World Trade Center, the Kosciuszko Bridge on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway and the Robert Moses Causeway over the Great South Bay Bridge, the release stated.

He will replace Kini Knudson, who is scheduled to retire Oct. 20.