New Road Crew for TxDOT

The Texas Department of Transportation last week named three new members of the management team under executive director Amadeo Saenz.

John Barton of Beaumont was named director for engineering operations, with David Casteel of San Antonio as executive director for district operations. Phil Russell of Austin will take the title of assistant executive director for innovative project development.

Barton, who began working for TxDOT as a summer employee in high school, is a Texas A&M University graduate and was named to his current position as district engineer for the eight-county Beaumont District in 2003.

Casteel has served as the district engineer for the 12-county San Antonio District since 2003. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas A&M University and is a graduate of the Governor’s Executive Development Program at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.

Russell, a transportation engineer with 25 years of state experience including leadership roles in Bryan, Dallas, and Austin, has served as director of TxDOT’s Texas Turnpike Authority division since 1998. He oversaw the planning and development of the Central Texas Turnpike Project. The first 44 miles of the project were opened under budget and a year ahead of schedule.

Russell has directed efforts to relieve congestion on Interstate 35 in Texas with the development of Trans-Texas Corridor 35. He is also in charge of planning TTC-69, a 600-mile multi-use transportation corridor extending from northeast Texas to Mexico.

Barton, Casteel, and Russell will assume their new roles on Feb. 1, 2008.

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