Engineers Week: Get to know our State Engineer's Office

As we mark National Engineers Week, let’s introduce you to where the action happens: ADOT’s State Engineer’s Office, led by State Engineer and Deputy Director Audra Merrick. Audra joined our podcast, On the Road With ADOT, this week to discuss the many roles engineers perform with our agency. Today, we share information on how those activities are organized within the State Engineer’s Office. 

What is the mission of the State Engineer’s Office? 

The State Engineer has executive oversight of ensuring that Arizona’s highway system can keep pace with population growth, safely connect people and empower Arizona’s economy. She and her deputies support and coordinate all activities for transportation divisions and groups responsible for developing and delivering the ADOT construction program as well as maintaining and operating nearly 7,000 miles of interstate and state highways. 

How is the State Engineer’s Office organized? 

Approximately 1,600 employees are part of multiple divisions and groups, including the Project Delivery and Operations, Multimodal Planning, and Alternative Delivery and Major Projects divisions. Here are greatly simplified explanations of their roles and responsibilities:

• Project Delivery and Operations constructs, operates and maintains highways, bridges and other transportation infrastructure. In addition to central functions such as those overseeing traffic design, contracts and specifications, and bridge design, construction and management, ADOT organizes the state into seven districts that are responsible for highway infrastructure within these jurisdictions. Each is led by a District Administrator who serves as that area’s link between the traveling public and ADOT. We have a map and information on each of these districts at azdot.gov/districts. 
• With the I-17 widening and flex lanes project and I-10 Broadway Curve improvement as recent examples, Alternative Delivery and Major Projects focuses primarily on larger, politically focused and technically complex projects that lend themselves to alternative delivery methods that: expedite project delivery; maximize innovation; leverage and maximize ADOT funds; facilitate public and private collaboration; and foster flexibility in delivery goals.
• Multimodal Planning serves the broad and critical mission of executing the planning and programming for a statewide transportation network. This includes multimodal forms of transportation – public transit, pedestrian, bicycling, and aviation – that complement Arizona’s cars and trucks using state roadways. Among its most visible efforts are overseeing annual updates to ADOT’s construction program and making sure projects and studies meet exacting standards set by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other state and federal requirements. 

Where do projects come from?

Subject to review and approval by the Arizona State Transportation Board appointed by the governor and approved by the state Senate, ADOT develops and prioritizes improvements from inception through the stages needed to construct and maintain them. This starts with developing the Long-Range Transportation Plan, which takes coordination and partnerships with local municipalities, as well as input from the public. Priorities from that plan inform ADOT’s Five-Year Transportation Facilities Construction Program, which is prepared and revised annually. The program is developed by working closely with local planning organizations and community leaders to identify projects that are ready to construct or design. The State Engineer and her deputies work with other groups and divisions to provide the required resources to deliver the program and ensure safety and efficiency.

Who are the engineers responsible for that highway construction project in my area? 

A lot of engineers are involved in conceptualizing, planning and designing any ADOT construction project. Many work for ADOT and others work for contractors managed by ADOT. A typical construction project will be overseen directly by a Resident Engineer who is responsible for ensuring that the contractor follows engineering plans precisely. The Resident Engineer is made aware of public feedback on individual projects shared with our Projects Hotline at [email protected] or 855.712.8530.

How can I have a say in priorities and projects overseen by the State Engineer’s Office? 

Public involvement is a big – and required – part of ADOT’s mission. Looking longer-term, we invite Arizonans to participate in ADOT’s 25-year Long-Range Transportation Plan. Updated every five years, this plan provides a vision and roadmap for how we will address growing demands on Arizona’s transportation system. You can learn more at adot2050plan.com. We’re about to launch the annual public involvement process for the tentative Five-Year Transportation Facilities Construction Program for 2027-2031. Opportunities to participate will include in-person and virtual State Transportation Board meetings and the ability to comment online and by email, mail and telephone. Many individual projects and studies have public involvement opportunities as well. You can review projects in various ADOT districts at azdot.gov/projects. You also can subscribe to email updates on the Long-Range Transportation Plan, five-year program, projects, studies and other ADOT initiatives.