Mark A. Doctor, PE Professional Profile A career of over 27 years with the Federal Highway Administration in various transportation engineering positions with diverse experiences and accomplishments in project development, highway design, construction, traffic safety, traffic operations, and Intelligent Transportation Systems. Accomplished results achieved through dynamic communication skills, technical proficiency, and leadership abilities to foster collaborative teamwork, create effective partnerships, and mentor employee development. Current Position Safety & Design Engineer With Federal Highway Administration Since 1988 Education Masters Transportation Engineering University of Florida 1993 Bachelors Civil Engineering Clemson University 1988 (Magna Cum Laude) Licensure Professional Engineer Georgia CAREER PATH Team Leader / Safety & Design Engineer (GS-14), FHWA Resource Center: January 2005 - Present Support the Team Manager in setting and explaining team performance priorities; coaching team members; planning and assigning work; developing and monitoring team budget and procurements Develop team performance plan, collect and analyze performance data to monitor team progress; evaluate employee performance and recommend performance ratings and awards Prioritizing team initiatives with focus on achieving measurable outcomes from the technical and program assistance provided to FHWA Division Offices and partner agencies Deploying engineering technologies and cutting edge programs making highways safer Providing technical assistance, applied expertise and training in highway geometric design Develop technical training and outreach taking results from recent research and emerging practices that provide transportation practitioners with the latest knowledge for assessing the influence of design choices on the safety performance of a roadway Provide technical assistance for incorporating safety in the highway design process, applying context sensitive solutions to complex highway projects, design of interchanges on the Interstate System, roundabout intersection design, intersection geometric design, and applying human factors considerations in designing highways for older users Develop and conduct comprehensive highway safety training courses, make technical presentations, and promote and demonstrate state-of-the-art technology in highway safety and design Active participation in national level committees and task forces related to highway safety and geometric design and fostering collaborative partnerships with nationally recognized leaders in these areas Present training courses that integrate safety considerations with environmental, social, physical and cost constraints on highway transportation projects Coordinated the development of the FHWA Design Focus Area Team on Interstate Access and Interchange Design, created the initial team work plan, and currently serve as co-team leader Participate in numerous highway safety reviews, highway design plan reviews for roundabouts and other complex intersections, and design plan reviews of complex freeway interchanges Directly participated in the development and/or improvement of state highway design practices, policies and guidelines Directly participated in reviewing highway design plans of complex projects and have performed traffic operational analyses for complex intersections and freeway interchanges Served as the leader of a national FHWA review team that examined issues related to the safety and operations of complex freeway interchanges. The review teams findings and recommendations were presented to Jeff Paniati, Jeff Lindley, King Gee and later became the basis for multiple webinars and presentations at national conferences
Assisted Ohio Division in Quality Improvement Review (process review) of Interstate Access Modification Studies. As a result of the Resource Center s independent review of IJS/IMS documents approved by the Division Office and evaluation of their consistency with federal requirements, quality and technical content, the Division will likely be improving their state and Division Office procedures for consistency with federal requirements by implementing our recommendations for future enhancements. Co-author of the US Country Report on Geometric Design and presented the report at the TRB 4 th International Symposium on Geometric Design in Valencia, Spain Participated in International Scan on Freeway Geometric Design for Active Traffic Management in Europe and serving as implementation plan team leader to disseminate findings and carryout US deployment activities Safety & ITS Team Leader (GS-13), FHWA Tennessee Division: October 2003-January 2005 Team leader guiding highway engineers, transportation specialists and an information technology (IT) specialist with responsibilities to achieve Division Office strategic objectives in the core program areas of safety, congestion management, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), incident and special event management, emergency transportation operations, and Division IT support Implemented organizational change and coached employees in adjusting to new duties and performance plans Led the development of annual work plan for team incorporating risk management principles Provide assistance and guidance on issues of the Federal-aid highway program related to safety and ITS programs Enhanced working relationships and partnership between the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and the State Governor s Highway Safety Office that ultimately led to major improvements in the timeliness and accuracy of statewide crash record data systems Served on the highly visible and politically sensitive Tennessee Railroad-Highway Grade Crossing Task Force, created by the Governor of Tennessee under public pressure to advance railroad grade crossing safety, where I led a work group that identified and implemented comprehensive strategies to improve the quality and frequency of grade crossing safety reviews in Tennessee Provided technical expertise and oversight in the development of ITS Regional Architectures for Nashville, Memphis and Knoxville Served as the Division s technical resource on the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and following the release of the 2003 MUTCD, I prepared and presented several workshops highlighting the Manual s changes to State DOT partners and to local agency partners through workshops coordinated by the Tennessee LTAP Center Assisted TDOT in developing a State Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Policy Field Operations Team Leader (GS-13), FHWA Tennessee Division: March 1998 September 2003 Led a team of engineers that provided federal-aid program guidance and technical assistance on project design, environmental documentation, contract administration, construction and maintenance. Applied broad knowledge of surface transportation laws, regulations and principles in support of the Federal-aid highway program Substantial experience in applying the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process on federal-aid projects and reviewing environmental documents Provided technical guidance in the development of complex freeway interchange design projects Providing technical advice and guidance on highway construction activities including promoting safe work zone traffic control strategies, environment sensitive erosion and sediment control plans, drainage system construction, and new technologies and state-of-the-art construction practices Conducting value engineering reviews with other engineers to determine cost saving strategies on highway projects
Worked closely with the Assistant Division Administrator in developing the Division unit plan and stewardship and oversight agreement with the state. Participated in the development and/or improvement of state highway design, construction, and maintenance practices, policies and guidelines. Partnered with TDOT and environmental resource agencies to advance the NEPA process for several complex and controversial projects including the future Interstate 69/269 segments, the Knoxville Beltway, and the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) Corridor K project through the Ocoee Scenic River gorge. Served as the Tennessee Division Office representative on the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) for the development of future Interstate-69 in Tennessee. This complex project to determine the future routing of I-69 through the Memphis urban area required maintaining delicate relationships and interagency cooperation among a variety of agencies and jurisdictions within the states of Mississippi and Tennessee. My diplomatic participation on the TAC successfully facilitated cooperation among the two state Departments of Transportation and the Memphis Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Fostered partnerships to advance the draft EIS for Tennessee s first major project (over $1 billion), the ADHS Corridor K Ocoee Gorge Bypass. This very controversial project involves constructing a new four-lane divided highway on new alignment within the environmentally sensitive Cherokee National Forest and two major bridges over the scenic Ocoee River. I successfully partnered with TDOT and several resource permitting agencies to create a multi-agency project management team of specialists to guide the development of the project in a cost-effective and environmentally sensitive manner. I facilitated interagency coordination meetings that brought together various Federal and state agencies, and staff members from the local US Congressional Representative. Forged partnerships and managed controversies on the politically sensitive Highway 321 widening project in Townsend, TN. This particularly sensitive highway project involved adverse impacts to significant archaeology sites of Native American settlements and burial grounds. I was instrumental in working with several Native American tribes and historic preservation agencies to advance the section 106 process and reach a Memorandum of Agreement for the project. Although there were a number of disagreements and tense moments, the final result allowed this important and high political interest project to advance with a modified design and construction method that was sensitive to the interests of the Native American tribes and allowed for the preservation in place of all human burials. Received a Special Act award for my ability to develop partnerships and agreements on that project. Led a process review of public involvement in transportation planning and project development processes that resulted in substantial improvements to TDOT s practices. As the Division s Appalachian Highway coordinator, my major accomplishment was the completion of the 2002 ADHS cost estimate for Tennessee. The previous cost estimate contained many errors and omissions and a substantial amount of documentation analysis and field review was needed to complete the cost estimate. I helped develop better documentation, support data and system status tracking. I received a Special Act award and recognition from the Appalachian Regional Commission for my contributions toward improving the ADHS cost estimate. When TDOT s value engineering program was in decline, I convinced TDOT s Design Director of the need to establish a full-time value engineering coordinator within the Department and to establish written guidelines for their value engineering program. I partnered in the development of draft guidelines that TDOT used in developing their current guidelines. Congestion Management and ITS Engineer, FHWA Region 4 Office: September 1995 February 1998 Technical assistance with Intelligent Transportation Systems implementations and designs. Reviewing traffic impact analyses for proposed Interstate system interchanges and providing technical assistance in geometric design of proposed Interstate freeway interchanges. Development and review of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) regional and project architectures and in reviewing the application of ITS standards in Federal-aid projects. Served as Regional Quality Coordinator with the responsibility of working closely with the Deputy Regional Administrator in preparing the annual Region Four Unit Plan and Accomplishments Report, Quality Baseline Assessments, and I served as a resource to the eight Division Offices in the Region in developing their unit plans as the Regional Quality Coordinator with duties assisting the Regional Administrator in developing the Region Unit Plan. Served as the agency s regional emergency transportation preparedness coordinator.
Developed and presented a one-day course on the Malcolm Baldridge Award quality criteria to each of the eight Divisions within the Region that explained the advantages gained through performing a Division quality assessment. Organized and facilitated the Region Four quality baseline assessment and assisted several Division Offices in performing quality self-assessments. Planned and implemented the USDOT Information Center for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games that served as a focal point to assemble and distribute transportation operations information during the Olympics to officials of all the modes within USDOT. Traffic Operations & ITS Engineer, Area Engineer and Assistant Area Engineer, FHWA Florida Division August 1990 September 1995 Evaluating project studies, engineering reports, plans, specifications, and other documents and making recommendations regarding alternatives and/or modifications Conducting field inspections and analyses on highway design projects, highway construction activities, and prepared reports on findings and recommendations including following-up on corrective actions Providing technical advice and guidance on highway construction activities including promoting quality, new technology and state-of-the-art practices Reviewed final plans, specifications and estimates of Federal-aid highway projects for appropriate application of design standards and criteria, traffic safety features, reasonable estimated prices, and conformance with Federal laws, regulations and policies and contract provisions Provide technical assistance and direction in the development of environmental impact statements and other environmental documents and studies to insure conformance with federal requirements Significant experience performing construction project inspections and Federal-aid contract administration issues, including the review of federal-aid project specifications, estimates, and contract documents for compliance with applicable regulations. I assisted the State DOT in analyzing contract supplemental agreements to minimize project cost overruns. Led and participated in multiple process reviews and highway project reviews that evaluated projects in terms of geometric design, traffic operations, constructability, safety, and cost-effectiveness Assisted the Florida Department of Transportation in the development of the Tampa Interstate Study. This study provided a master plan of future improvements to a complex and constrained urban freeway corridor including several interchange reconstructions. Construction oversight of numerous high-cost transportation projects including the I-275 Howard Frankland Bridge over Tampa Bay and the I-95 Buckner Bridge over St. John s River Highway Engineer Trainee: June 1988 August 1990 FHWA Highway Engineer Training Program Assignments in Kansas Division, HQ Office of Traffic Operations, Eastern Federal Lands, and West Virginia Division PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS Transportation Research Board Former Member- Geometric Design Committee (AFB10) Member Alternative Intersections Working Group of Joint Committee on Intersections AASHTO Subcommittee on Construction - Served as secretary to the environmental task force from 2000-2003 Institute of Transportation Engineers Member - Georgia Chapter
AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS National Highway Institute (NHI) Master Trainer Certification (2009) NHI Instructor of Excellence (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014) Secretary s Transportation Safety Award: For extraordinary dedication, service, and commitment to highway safety improvement in the US (2009) FHWA Administrator s Award for Superior Achievement: In recognition for outstanding contributions to the federal-aid highway program (2001) Outstanding Performance Ratings in 2008, 2002, 2000 1997 and 1994 Quality Step Increase Award in 2002