(a) The commissioners court shall appoint a county road engineer, who must:
(1) be a licensed professional engineer experienced in road construction and maintenance; and
(2) meet the qualifications required by the Texas Department of Transportation for its district engineers.
(b) If the commissioners court is unable to employ a licensed professional engineer, it may employ a county road administrator to perform the duties of the county road engineer. The county road administrator must have had experience in road building or maintenance or other types of construction work qualifying the person to perform the duties of the position but need not have had any particular amount of professional training or experience in engineering work.
(c) For purposes of this subchapter, a reference in another section of this subchapter to the county road engineer means the county road administrator.