James Ballinger graduated from the University of KY in 1987 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering. He was a KY Transportation Cabinet Scholarship student and immediately started working on the Cabinet’s training program at the District 7 Office in Lexington. During his career he served in various roles including, Construction Resident Engineer, Branch Manager for Construction, and Branch Manager for Pre-Construction. He retired in December 2014 as the Chief District Engineer from Highway District 7.

After a short break, James began working at the KY Transportation Center at UK, serving as a Research and Training Engineer. In September 2015, he started working for Vaughn & Melton Consulting Engineers and served as the Lexington, KY Office Leader. He re-joined the KY Transportation Cabinet in August 2020 when he was appointed as the State Highway Engineer. James lives on his family farm in Rockcastle County with his wife Carrie, where they enjoy raising Hereford Beef Cattle.