Brad Eggleston, a veteran engineer who has been at the forefront of Palo Alto's recent push to upgrade its infrastructure, will be the new leader of the Public Works Department.

The appointment, which City Manager James Keene announced Wednesday, is set to go to the City Council for approval in October, according to Keene.

The council is well familiar with Eggleston, who joined the city 20 years ago. He has served in every Public Works division and has been the interim director since former Director Michael Sartor retired earlier this year. Eggleston is also at the center of implementing the council's 2014 Infrastructure Plan, which includes a new public-safety building, two new parking garages, a bike bridge over U.S. Highway 101 and other projects. In 2011, Eggleston worked with a specially appointed panel to identify the city's infrastructure priorities and come up with ways to pay for the needed fixes.

In his announcement, Keene said Eggleston had been the "go to" manager that the city has relied on to successfully steer some of most important projects.

"In addition, his focus on improving the conditions of our streets and roads, completing the beautiful new Baylands Golf links course and ensuring the city's storm drains and flood plains are in good shape has improved the community’s overall quality of life," Keene said.

Eggleston joined the city in 1998 as an industrial waste investigator and has managed the city's environmental-control and solid-waste programs before becoming assistant director of the Public Works Director in 2012.

He currently leads the 33-person team in the Engineering Services Division, which is responsible for implementing the city's capital-improvement program. He also oversees the group responsible for public right-of-way and flood-plain issues, according to the announcement.

"Throughout my evolving career with Palo Alto's Public Works Department, I have been impressed by the dedication of the people and the breadth of the mission of the department," Eggleston said in the announcement. "I am very excited to take on this leadership role as Public Works continues to deliver projects and services that are vital to the Palo Alto community."

Eggleston holds a bachelor's degree in conservation and resource studies from the University of California at Berkeley and a master's degree in civil and environmental engineering from San Jose State University.