The Board of Directors of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials elected Russell McMurry (above at right), commissioner of the Georgia Department of Transportation, as its 2025-2026 president at the group’s 2025 Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City. The board also selected Marc Williams (above at left), executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation, as its 2025-2026 vice president.
[Above photo by AASHTO]
McMurry originally joined Georgia DOT as an engineering intern in 1990: serving in a variety of roles, including chief engineer, before being appointed the department’s planning director by Governor Nathan Deal (R). McMurry was subsequently appointed Georgia DOT’s commissioner by unanimous vote of the State Transportation Board in 2015.
He also previously served as AASHTO’s treasurer for seven years, as well as chair of AASHTO’s Council on Highways and Streets, chair of AASHTO’s Transportation Policy Forum, and chair of AASHTO’s Strategic Management Committee.
[Editor’s note: In September, McMurry spoke as part of an AASHTO “State DOT 2-Minute Update” episode detailing several of the Georgia DOT’s many ongoing infrastructure projects.]
McMurry graduated cum laude from Georgia Southern University with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering technology and is a registered professional engineer in the state of Georgia.
Over the years, McMurry has received numerous accolades including being named Georgia Trend’s 2018 Georgian of the Year and is consistently included on the 100 Most Influential Georgians list. He was also named one of Atlanta’s most powerful leaders in Atlanta Magazine’s “Atlanta 500” and James Magazine’s 2024 Most Influential Georgians.
In August, McMurry received the ITS Lifetime Achievement Award bestowed jointly by ITS America, ITS Asia-Pacific, and ERTICO-ITS Europe – the first U.S. state DOT leader to be so honored – for his longstanding work to help develop and promote intelligent transportation systems. He was also elected to the ITS World Congress Hall of Fame.
“AASHTO has been instrumental throughout my career, and I’m honored to serve as its president,” McMurry said. “State DOTs are essential to delivering a safe, efficient, multimodal transportation system, and I’m committed to supporting that work—especially as we prepare for the next federal surface transportation reauthorization. Together, we will continue focusing on reducing roadway fatalities and improving project delivery. I look forward to working with my colleagues in what will be a very important year.”
Under McMurry’s direction, AASHTO focus on advancing critical federal surface transportation funding reauthorization legislation, expand efficiency in project delivery, and improve safety through technological enhancements. His presidential emphasis areas will specifically feature:
- Working to support Congress in enacting a new long-term federal surface transportation bill that reauthorizes the federal highway, highway safety, transit, and rail programs before the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act or IIJA expires. To advocate for those goals, AASHTO will urge Congress to refocus the federal transportation program around formula funding, to strategically deploy discretionary grants, and coordinate with industry partners to help “connect the dots” with members of Congress on the role and importance of the formula programs to advance projects in every congressional district across this nation.
- Finding opportunities to expand efficiency in project delivery to help bring projects to communities in a timely manner. This includes supporting the delegation of federal authorities to interested states, working with Congress and the Trump Administration to implement new “Build America, Buy America” rules in a strategic way, while developing tools to assist in co-location and collaboration of federal resource agencies involved in reviewing environmental documents.
- Maintaining a focus on safety; AASHTO’s core mission and the heart of every transportation project and program. Through the next year, AASHTO will support state DOTs in their work to leverage technological advancements, establish new partnerships, and strengthen existing ones to further promote a nationwide culture of safety and support evolving strategies for addressing safety issues related to all elements of the nation’s transportation systems.
Concurrently, TxDOT’s Williams appreciated the opportunity to join McMurry in this mission. Prior to joining TxDOT in 2012 as director of planning, his career included leadership roles with a variety of public and private sector organizations involved with the planning, development, and implementation of transportation infrastructure projects across the United States.
The Texas Transportation Commission named Williams executive director of TxDOT in 2021 after serving as the agency’s deputy executive for five years and as interim director.
[Editor’s note: In 2022, Williams also participated in an AASHTO “State DOT 2-Minute Update” video regarding many of the operational aspects of TxDOT at the time, especially in terms of the agency’s inclement weather strategies.]
Williams graduated from Texas A&M University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering and is a registered professional engineer in Texas.
“I am grateful to serve as AASHTO vice president alongside Russell and support his call to focus on things that will help state DOTs deliver a safer, more efficient transportation system,” Williams said. “From working to reauthorize the IIJA to boosting safety and improving project delivery, I look forward to partnering on these critical issues impacting all levels of transportation.”
In a statement, Jim Tymon – AASHTO’s executive director – praised the election of McMurry and Williams for their long-standing commitment to AASHTO and their dedication to building a stronger transportation network for the future.
“Russell McMurry and Marc Williams have long been leaders within AASHTO and have done so much already to support their state DOT colleagues across the country,” Tymon said. “In their new roles, we can only expect more of that exceptional leadership, strong collaboration with colleagues and industry partners, and action as we look toward a federal surface transportation reauthorization, continue to address safety challenges on our roadways, and find ways to enhance project delivery to make a difference in communities across the country.”
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