AASHTO Journal - Profile of 2025-2026 AASHTO President Russell McMurry

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials recently released a video profile of Russell McMurry (above), commissioner of the Georgia Department of Transportation, who was elected the organization’s 2025-2026 president at its November 2025 Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City.

[Above image by AASHTO]

In the video, McMurry reflects on his career in public service, his leadership philosophy, and his key emphasis areas, which are reauthorization of federal surface transportation funding, improving project delivery processes, and safety.

Drawing on decades of experience, he shares a clear vision for collaboration, innovation, and strengthening the nation’s transportation system.

“Being selected as AASHTO president is just amazing experience and really the highlight of my professional career,” McMurry noted in the video. “It’s just a real honor and privilege to be nominated and elected by my peers across the nation that lead transportation for the United States of America.”

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 five 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 2025, 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.