The Maryland Department of Transportation's State Highway Administration (SHA) has renamed its Statewide Operations Center for former SHA Administrator Hal Kassoff. A ceremony to commemorate the name change was attended by Secretary of Transportation Robert Flanagan, SHA Administrator Neil Pedersen and current and former SHA employees.
Kassoff is currently a senior vice president at Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas Inc., the U.S. infrastructure arm of Parsons Brinckerhoff, an international program management, engineering and construction management organization. He is responsible for overseeing the firm's highway projects nationwide.
Kassoff worked at SHA for 25 years and served as SHA Administrator. During his tenure, he guided the agency through a dramatic period of investment and change. He led an organization of approximately 4,000 employees with an annual capital budget of more than $140 million.
Under Kassoff's leadership, SHA initiated numerous innovations, including securing 100% federal funding in 1991 for the creation of the SOC and its subsequent opening in 1995; the nation's first statewide incident management and traffic management program; and many award-winning designs for major highway projects.
"Hal Kassoff was a leader and true innovator of several programs and initiatives that continue today," said Flanagan. "The SOC functions as efficiently as it does today in large part due to Hal Kassoff's vision, his dedication and his passion."
