FHWA Restructures HQ, Field Organizations
5 October 1998
Making it More Responsive FHWA Restructures Headquarters, Field Organizations In a common sense approach to be more responsive to the needs of America, Federal Highway Administrator Kenneth R. Wykle today announced that the agency made pivotal changes to its organization by restructuring its headquarters, establishing new resource centers in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago and San Francisco, and eliminating nine regional offices. "President Clinton is committed to re-inventing government to make it more responsive to the needs of the American people," U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater said. "These common sense changes mark the beginning of a new era of service from the Federal Highway Administration." "Successfully meeting the needs of the American public has required a willingness to grow and change in the right places at the right time," Administrator Wykle said. "As we consider the needs of our partners and customers, clearly, this is the time for change." He noted that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has been serving the needs of the American public for 105 years. The new headquarters organization structure will focus resources on core businesses aligned with FHWA's future strategic goals and objectives. The new structure as currently planned will include five core business areas: infrastructure; planning and environment; operations; motor carrier and highway safety; and federal lands highways. The headquarters organization will also be supported by eight cross-cutting units: policy; administration; research, development, and technology; chief counsel; civil rights; public affairs; professional development; and corporate management. With the opening of the new resource centers, FHWA's field structure no longer includes nine regional offices. Responsibilities for state projects and programs now reside entirely with the federal-aid and motor carrier division offices located in each state. These offices have traditionally worked most closely with the state departments of transportation, safety organizations, metropolitan planning organizations, and local governments on day-to-day issues. The new structure will build upon those relationships and provide an even greater level of service, Wykle said. The division offices will carry out FHWA field operations with support from the four new resource centers. The resource centers will be led by leadership teams, each headed by a director and an operations manager. The four resource center locations and team leaders are: * Atlanta Eugene W. Cleckley, Resource Center Director Jerry Cooper, Operations Manager * Baltimore Dale E. Wilken, Resource Center Director John Steinhoff, Operations Manager * Chicago A. George Ostensen, Resource Center Director (Olympia Fields, Ill.) Douglas Sawin , Operations Manager * San Francisco Leon J. Witman, Resource Center Director Nicholas Walsh , Operations Manager The resource centers will make available, through the division offices, a wide range of guidance and expert assistance in a variety of areas, including engineering disciplines (pavements and structures), environmental disciplines (air quality and historic preservation), operational disciplines (safety, motor carriers and ITS) and new disciplines (innovative finance and environmental justice). The centers also will have a significant role in training offered by FHWA. In many cases, resource center staff will serve as instructors for training courses, including those developed and presented at the National Highway Institute and by the Office of Motor Carriers' National Training Center. FHWA officials will be providing more details on the agency's transformation at many of the major highway and transportation conferences scheduled for the coming months. Additional information is also available on the FHWA website, www.fhwa.dot.gov/html. The FHWA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation has an annual budget of more than $25 billion. The agency works with states and communities across the nation to build and maintain America's roads and bridges and to ensure a strong intermodal transportation system. # # # Visit the DOT Public Affairs Web Site at: http://www.dot.gov/briefing.htm
