AASHTO Journal, 12 August 2016
Gov. Jay Inslee on Aug. 9 named Roger Millar as secretary of the Washington State Department of Transportation, a position Millar has filled in an acting role since February.
This is the last year of Inslee’s term as governor, and he is up for re-election in November.
His announcement that Millar is now the department’s secretary included statements of praise from the chairs of transportation committees in the state House and Senate.
Millar“I have been very impressed by Roger’s leadership at WSDOT and have full confidence he will be able to deliver the many safety and traffic relief projects included in the recent bipartisan transportation investment package,” said Rep. Judy Clibborn, chair of the House Transportation Committee.
Curtis King, who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee, said: “Based upon his performance as acting secretary, I am pleased Secretary Millar has been appointed by the governor and look forward to working with him.”
The announcement noted that Millar oversees an agency of 6,800 employees with responsibility for 18,600 lane miles of highway, 3,800 bridges, general aviation airports, passenger- and freight-rail programs and Washington State Ferries, the nation’s largest ferry system.
“Roger has proven to be a well-respected leader with an impressive ability to bring people together and find sensible solutions to difficult problems,” Inslee said. “He will be overseeing our historic new transportation investment package and is already bringing innovative efficiencies to WSDOT that will save time and money on projects across the state.”
Millar has nearly 40 years of experience in the transportation and planning area, and has worked in construction, design, planning, research, policy development, management and administration in both the public and private sectors.
Millar has been a public works director, city and county planning director, and vice president of a multinational engineering firm. Before joining WSDOT, he worked for five years as vice president at Smart Growth America in Washington, D.C., where he directed technical assistance programs for state, regional and local governments.
Millar was elected a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1999. From 2000 to 2014, he served on the ASCE Committee for America’s Infrastructure, which produces the nationally recognized Report Card for America’s Infrastructure.
The announcement also said he has won national, state and local awards for planning and project delivery, including the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organization’s National Award for Outstanding Achievement in Metropolitan Transportation Planning and the American Consulting Engineers Council Honor Award.