The Federal Highway Administrator, Victor M. Mendez, has announced the appointment of Walter (Butch) Waidelich to the position of Associate Administrator for Infrastructure.
Since April 2011, Mr. Waidelich has served as the Director of Field Services West, overseeing the delivery of the Federal-aid highway program in 13 western Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) division offices with a collective budget of $9 billion. He has played a key leadership role in developing a vision of risk oversight for FHWA that will begin to redefine the Agency’s stewardship and oversight in the era following the “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century” Act.
As a result of his leadership and direction, all of the FHWA’s western division offices completed assessments of the 23 individual metrics related to National Bridge Inspection Standards and implemented corrective actions where required. In addition, under his leadership all western States implemented national highway safety initiatives that contributed to an 18 percent reduction in highway fatalities.
Prior to this assignment, Mr. Waidelich served for 2 years in the Senior Executive Service (SES) position of California Division Administrator (DA) where he oversaw the accelerated delivery of critical infrastructure projects that helped spur long-term economic development. He has also held other key leadership assignments including Utah DA, New Hampshire Assistant Division Administrator, District Engineer in Texas, and Engineering Team Leader in Illinois.
Before joining FHWA in 1988 as a Highway Engineer Trainee, Mr. Waidelich served for 4 years as an officer in the U.S. Army. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mining Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines.