Darrell Johnson’s ability to keep a $2 billion design highway expansion on track despite multiple risks and challenges stems in part from his experience working through commuter rail.
A government class at the University of California, Riverside also helped. “It completely changed my thought process about the world we live in,” says the CEO of the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA). An internship at the Riverside County Transportation Commission gave him experience in planning for traffic, streets and highways. But “what got me into transportation full-time was Amtrak’s management partnership program,” he says. “I rotated through all aspects of the organization: operations and maintenance, construction, passenger services, marketing.”
At age 23, he worked for a year at Los Angeles Union Station as an operations supervisor, working the night shift. “The day I left, I thought, ‘this was the best job I’ve ever had,’ even though I hated it,” she laughs. “I had learned what transportation meant to people every day in a big city—the role it plays in people’s lives.”
After about a decade gaining more experience at various agencies, Johnson joined OCTA in 2003 as a planner. “In 2005, our board decided to seek a renewal of Measure M,” which proposed raising sales taxes to fund transportation. It was put to the polls in 2006 and was approved by 70% of voters. “This was a major turning point for me. I saw a future where I had the opportunity to help develop this plan and implement it.”
Johnson was still working on rail and road projects, and in 2012 he took the reins as CEO of OCTA. When the environmental process for the widening of Interstate 405 had to be restarted, he decided that public participation also needed a revamp.
“A big part of my restructuring in 2013 was that I wanted to do a better job of listening to the audience, even if we didn’t like what they had to say,” he says. “That listening resulted in tweaks, configurations, minimizing impacts and trying to tell a better story about what the project would mean in terms people can understand.”
It also meant listening to their own people and design team.
“I have worked with numerous executives over the years who have proclaimed partnership as their way of doing business,” says Sam Hassoun, president of GLA Corp. “Darrell Johnson completely redefined what it means for a top executive to be committed to the partnership. He didn’t just start the sessions at the start of the project – he was the first in and the last to leave every session and every month for more than six years.”
Daniel Ruiz, CEO of OHLA USA, who co-leads the design and construction team, adds, “He clearly showed us how important this project was to the agency and that he knew it was essential to work in step. His leadership and collaborative nature resulted in a successful project for OCTA, OHLA USA, and most importantly, the public.”
That collaboration was key to appeasing cities affected by the 16-mile project and addressing concerns like local traffic impacts before they escalated into real litigation. “He was clear that he wanted to hear the problems, and if we’re really causing them, we’re going to fix them. If they were long-standing problems, but if we’re making them worse, we should deal with it,” Johnson says.
Johnson’s extensive experience in transportation also informs his holistic view of the project. “It’s not just about improving the highway, it’s about how to improve the system,” he says.
