With just over two months in his new position, TxDOT’s Houston District Engineer, Glenn Allbritton, P.E. joined NHA’s membership for a welcome reception and transportation briefing. Glenn is responsible for overseeing the planning, designing, building, operation and maintenance of the state transportation system for the six counties in the Houston District. Joined on stage by NHA Board Chair Kim Sachtleben, P.E. the conversation began with Glenn expressing his top three focus areas when it comes to leading the district. First was an emphasis on safety, both of employees and the public. District employees are now receiving daily emailed statistics and safety messaging, including the number of fatalities that occur on TxDOT roads. Second, Allbritton stated that he intends to look at and streamline the prcedure of submitting and reviewing plans to the
organization. Third, came the desire to increase the districts skillset and ability to perform in-house maintenance, which is currently at about 20% of the maintenance needed.
Having over 26 years of experience at TxDOT, Glenn has seen several changes occur within the orgranization. The addition of custom dashboards has made access to specified data and project information much easier and efficient. The process of public engagement and education is also very different and more in-depth than prior years.
Some of the most recent differences Glenn has experienced come from the size varaince in TxDOT’s Abeliene District and TxDOT’s Houston District. During his time in Abeliene, Glenn was instrumental in creating a Rural Planning Organization (RPO). When asked how his experience creating the RPO would prepare him for working with Houston-Galveston Area Council, our region’s Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), Glenn shared that the opportunity to collaborate with local partners accross several counties just further emphasized the need for everyone to adopt a regional mindset instead of individual focus. This is instrumental to the approach he intends to bring to the Houston District.
