Transportation News, Volume 45, Number 4, July/August 2021 Page: 8
31 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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A NEW CHAPTER
BEGINS
EDITOR'S NOTE: In May, the Texas Transportation
Commission selected Marc Williams as TxDOT's
new executive director, effective June 1. Williams
has worked at TxDOT since 2012 when he joined
the department as director of planning, serving in
that role until 2016 when he was appointed TxDOT's
deputy executive director.
TN sat down with Williams at TxDOT headquarters
in Austin to get his thoughts on the future of the
agency, the value of the TxDOT Family and what he
enjoys most about working at TxDOT.
The following has been edited for length and clarity.
Visit TN+ to see a video of the full interview.
TN: What do you enjoy most about working
for TxDOT?
Marc Williams: What I enjoy most is the people
we work with and seeing how we do the great
work that we do. It's not just TxDOT people. It's
also people outside the organization: local elected
officials, motorists and landowners. People whose
transportation needs are challenging us to rethink
how we do things. It's that interpersonal dynamic
that I've always enjoyed. You're able to be involved in
so many people's lives. That's what I've enjoyed about
the work we do here in TxDOT and being a part of the
TxDOT Family.
TN: What are some of the biggest opportunities
for TxDOT in the coming years?
MW: One of [Texas Transportation Commission]
Chairman Bugg's favorite callings to us is to execute,
execute, execute. We owe it to our customers to do
all we can with the resources provided to us to deliver
projects to improve safety and to enhance mobility.
That's the challenge for the department. It has been
for the past 100 years and will continue to be far past
my tenure.Marc Williams, right, with Gerardo Schwebel at the
2019 Transportation Short Course.
TN: You have an extensive engineering background.
How do you think that will help you in your new role
as executive director?
MW: I see myself as an engineer - and that's
important - but one who has spent a lot of time on
the administration side as well. I understand and
appreciate the expertise that goes into so much
of what we do on the engineering side. What I can
bring to this position is some of the training and
experience that I've had as a professional engineer.
I understand the thought processes, the mechanics
and the standards that are involved. We have to work
within those standards even when we desire to do
things differently.July - August 2021 TN
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Texas. Department of Transportation. Transportation News, Volume 45, Number 4, July/August 2021, periodical, July 2021; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1507612/m1/8/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.