Tom Warne Report, 18 November 2011
HANOVER, MD – Governor Martin O’Malley has appointed Melinda B. Peters to lead the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) and serve as the agency’s first female administrator. For the past six years, Peters served as Director of the Intercounty Connector (ICC) Project where she has been responsible for leading a multi-disciplinary public/private team to successfully construct the largest highway project in Maryland history.
“Melinda Peters is one of the brightest highway professionals in the country,” said Governor O’Malley. “She is a talented engineer who is also an exceptional manager. At the peak of construction of the ICC, nearly 5,000 people, from both the public and private sectors, were working to build one of the most challenging and environmentally sensitive projects in the country. Melinda skillfully managed both the people and the process to deliver the ICC on-time and on- budget. As administrator, she will use these same skills to take SHA to the next level.”
Ms. Peters will lead one of the largest agencies in state government with an annual budget of $1.1 billion and a staff of 3,100. She joined SHA in 1995 serving as a project engineer in the Highway Design Division. In addition to leading the design and construction of the ICC, Ms. Peters has played a key role in the development of many complex projects throughout Maryland’s highway network including US 29 corridor improvements, the reconstruction of the I-270/MD 124 interchange and the improvement of MD 212/Powder Mill Road.