A couple of blogs ago, former Virginia Dept. of Transportation chief Philip Shucet agreed to guest blog about his haunting feeling that leaving the engineering world was not the best move. Certainly there were many Virginia contractors who, appreciative of his vigorous outreach efforts to them during his tenure, agreed.

Shucet

Philip told me how he tackled the history of non-transparency at VDOT and the public mistrust and media problems. Among other things he gave a reporter at the Washington Post -- someone who had definitely come down hard on the agency in the past -- his cellphone number and home phone number. He had a media staff -- Tamara Neale was the chief -- who were remarkable in their responsiveness to us at ENR as well as to any other reporter. I have written about the Dashboard project that made VDOT's website one of the most transparent in the nation.

I cannot resist mentioning that Philip got his start at the Arizona Dept. of Transportation, which has an impressive list of alums. They include Mary Peters, now U.S. DOT Secretary, and Tom Warne, who spearheaded 1-15 -- a trailblazing major design-build project -- for Utah DOT and still a prominent industry leader as a consultant. I know there are others but I¹ve had the privilege to get to know the above folks, and they too understand the importance of communication, not stonewalling or bureaucracy. What is it about that Arizona air?

Philip, after not surprisingly receiving several offers from top engineering firms, finally settled on a division director position with Macquarie Securities (USA) Inc. It seems a particularly fitting move for a former head of an agency that is at the forefront of state transportation departments when it comes to public-private partnerships. Macquarie is making a splash in the United States. With partner Cintra, it holds the $1.83-billion, 99-year lease of the Chicago Skyway and the $3.86-billion, 75-year Indiana Toll Road privatization this year. Greenfield-wise, it is also running the building and operation of State Route 125 in San Diego and will certainly play a huge role in the Trans-Texas Corridor.

With his experience on the public owner's side, Philip can provide a vital role in making sure American public agencies and the wary American public understand the PPP trend and the "foreign" firms coming in to "run our roads" (a phrase I've heard from many a dubious fellow citizen). It goes both ways; I believe that firms like Macquarie and Cintra need to truly understand the importance of public involvement in a road project. While as private firms investing pension funds and such, they certainly need to hold some cards close to their chests, they must also take note of the controversies surrounding such ambitious PPP plans like the TTC. Truckers, Democrats, Republicans, farmers and all sorts of Texans are up in arms. Their concerns are not without merit. But DOTs, engineering firms and contractors on major non-PPP projects have, especially in recent years, learned that extensive public outreach can truly work. Overseas firms need to learn the same lessons, and hiring someone like Philip Shucet may help them do it.

Of course, I warned him, he can expect phone calls from me for stories at any time.

April, 25, 2007

Phil actually "got his start" at the WVDOH before it became a DOT. He and I both owe our mentor Charles Miller a great deal. Charlie (now retired) left WV as Commissioner and went to AZDOT as State Highway Engineer and then within one year became Secretary replacing Bill Ordway. He took Phil with him and I followed one year later. Phil has long been a dedicated public servant who has an uncanny ability to wade through all the bureaucracy and complexity of an issue and then proactively and successfully solve the problem.

Tom Bryant
URS Corp.