Transportation News, Volume 25, Number 9, May 2000 Page: 5
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Transportation News
'Father of
I
nterstate
'in Hal
1
of Honor
Texas Transportation Institute inducts Frank Turner posthumously
By Eloise Lundgren
Public Information Office
The Texas Transportation Institute
inducted the "Father of the Interstate
Highway System" into the Texas
Transportation Hall of Honor posthumously
last month at Texas A&M University in
College Station.
Francis C. "Frank" Turner, who died in
October 1999, is the first individual to be
recognized for distinguished accomplish-
ments in the field of transportation. A 1929
graduate of Texas A&M, Turner spent 43
years with the Bureau of Public Roads, now
known as the Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA), culminating with
his appointment as Federal Highway
Administrator in 1969.
"Frank Turner changed all our lives," said
Dr. Herb Richardson, TTI director, at the
formal ceremony in the main conference
room of the Gilchrist Building. "You can't
say that about many people."
In addition to overseeing the creation and
construction of the Interstate Highway
System, Turner also supervised the building
of the Alaskan Highway during World War
II and the rebuilding of the Philippine high-
way system following the war. His name was
recently included in prestigious lists such as
"Ten People Who Changed the Way You
Live" (American Heritage Magazine), and "25
Makers of the American Century" (US.
News and World Report).
Other speakers who praised Turner for his
contributions to transportation in America
included Dr. Dennis Christiansen, TTI
deputy director; Billy Higgins, American
Association of State Highway andcontributions to the development
and operation of Texas' trans-
portation system.
"Texas is recognized as having
one of the finest multi-modal
transportation systems in the
world," Christiansen said. "The
creation and operation of this
system is the result of unusual
vision and leadership by a rela-
tively small number of exception-
al individuals.
"We felt like the beginning of
the new century was a good time
to do this," he explained. "And
this new building provides a fine
facility to honor these trans-
The sons and daughter of Frank Ibrner, known in trans- portation leaders in a first-class
portation circles as 'the Father of the Interstate Highway manner."
System,' view a plaque commemorating their father's work A five-person committee will
at his posthumous dedication in TTI's Hall of Honor. be responsible for directing the
Transportation Officials (AASHTO); Jack Texas Transportation Hall of
Wilkes, FHWA director of engineering; Honor and determining which individuals
Denny Judycki, FHWA director of research, should be inducted. The committee, chaired
development and technology; Ray Barnhart, by Christiansen, is comprised of Goode;
former FHWA administrator; Mark Goode, Houston attorney Hugh McCulley; engi-
former Texas Department of Transportation neering consultant and former TxDOT
engineer-director; and Mike Behrens, deputy executive director Bob Cuellar; and
TxDOT assistant executive director for engi- Fort Worth Transit's John Bartosowicz.
neering operations. Any individual making a contribution to
Several members of Turner's family the Texas transportation system since state-
attended the ceremony. His three children hood (1845) is eligible for consideration.
unveiled the plaque that will be displayed in Anyone may submit nominations to TTI.
the Hall of Honor and announced that they Additional information may be obtained by
are donating all of Turner's papers to Texas contacting Christiansen, TTI/CE Tower,
A&M. Administration, College Station, Texas
According to Christiansen, TTI was look- 77843-3135, or by phone (409) 845-1537. *
ing for a way to honor formally and perma-
nently individuals who have made significantUT survey shows improvement in communication
By Sara Barker
Human Resources Division
A recent biennial survey of state agencies
yielded few surprises about worker attitudes
at TxDOT: Employees believe they are
doing quality work for less than adequate
salaries.
But there is also plenty of good news,
according to the scientific survey. Employees
think internal communication has improved
within the agency, and they are generally sat-
isfied with their jobs.
TxDOT participated in the University of
Texas Survey of Organizational Excellence
again this year. Sponsored by the University
of Texas School of Social Work, the SOE is
conducted every two years to coincide with
the state's budgetary cycle.
The survey offers employees the chance to
share their perceptions in five categories:
work team perceptions, physical work set-
tings or accommodations, general organiza-
tional features, communication patterns, and
personal demands. These five categories are
composed of survey constructs designed to
draw broad profiles of areas of strengths and
concerns in categories such as fairness, super-
visor effectiveness, empowerment and inter-
nal communication.Survey results can be used to help
TxDOT improve productivity, morale and
the quality of the agency, human resources
officials said.
"This survey provides us with an opportu-
nity to gather valuable feedback from our
employees," said Cathy J. Williams, assistant
executive director for support services. "It
allows us to identify areas that have improved
and also helps us identify other areas that
might require attention."
Over the four survey cycles since 1994,
TxDOT has consistently scored highest in
the areas of strategic orientation, satisfaction
with benefits, employees' belief that
TxDOT's work is of high quality and that
TxDOT communicates well with external
customers. Employees gave TxDOT's lowest
rankings in the areas of empowerment,
supervisor effectiveness, fairness and fair pay.
The areas of greatest improvement were
internal communication, adequacy of the
physical environment and job satisfaction.
Since 1994, the agency score on internal
communication has improved 12 percent.
Employee perceptions of the adequacy of
their physical environment has improved 8
percent, while job satisfaction ratings have
risen by 11 percent.An area that has shown little improvement
is fair pay. In the 1994-1995 survey, fair pay
was rated eighth of the 10 constructs, or the
second lowest. In the three surveys conduct-
ed since 1996, fair pay has been among the
five lowest scoring items: fifth lowest in
1996, third lowest in 1998 and lowest of all
in the fall 1999 survey. However, 71 percent
of respondents said they had received a merit
increase within the last two years, compared
to 54 percent of the employees in all state
agencies surveyed. Promotions were received
by 52 percent of TxDOT employees, com-
pared to 36 percent in participating agencies.
Survey results for the agency as a whole
and each district, division and office will be
distributed to district engineers and division
and office directors in May. A summary of
agencywide survey results will be posted on
the Human Resources Division's Intranet
page later this year.
Employees' responses are strictly anony-
mous. Demographic information requested
on the survey is returned to participating
agencies as summed numbers. TxDOT
receives a final statistical summary, but the
surveys are never returned to the agency.*5
May 2000
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Texas. Department of Transportation. Transportation News, Volume 25, Number 9, May 2000, periodical, May 2000; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth576386/m1/5/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.