The American Road and Transportation Builders Association Transportation Development Foundation has published "America's Top 100 Private Sector Transportation Design & Construction Professionals of the 20th Century."

The honorees and their firms were recognized at a gala dinner recently in Washington, D.C.

ARTBA's 2002-03 "Centennial Celebration Program" was aimed at drawing public attention to the social, economic and mobility contributions made by the men and women of the U.S. transportation construction industry. The individuals featured in the ARTBA "Top 100" publication were selected from nominations received in response to a survey conducted by the ARTBA-TDF. It was sent to state transportation secretaries, daily newspapers, construction industry journalists, newspaper editors, national construction and transportation-related associations and ARTBA members.

The following are individuals from Texas or with ties to Texas included in the book and excerpts from the publication, edited for space here:

• Tom Johnson, executive vice president, AGC of Texas: "Thomas L. Johnson, Sr. (1938- ), has been a transportation construction industry leader in Texas and nationally for more than 30 years as executive vice president of the Associated General Contractors of Texas. He first joined the association in 1967. He has been an important private sector partner as the Texas Department of Transportation-with an annual construction program exceeding $3 billion-has worked to provide efficient and effective transportation systems throughout the state. The success of the Texas DOT in meeting staggering user demand owes much to the AGC of Texas and Johnson's leadership. A rancher and landowner, he speaks fluent Spanish. Johnson has served as an officer in the U.S. Army and holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Texas A&M University."

Tom Johnson, executive vice president, AGC of Texas

• Doug Pitcock, president, chairman/CEO, Williams Brothers Construction Co. Inc.: "Doug Pitcock (1928- ) has provided leadership over the past 35 years that has made a lasting impression on the transportation construction industry in the United States and Texas. As owner and CEO of Houston-based Williams Brothers Construction Co. Inc., he heads one of the country's largest highway/heavy construction companies. Williams Brothers has built major bridges over the Mississippi and other major rivers, including the Inter-Coastal Waterway and the Houston Ship Channel. In 2003, the firm had more than $1.42 billion of Texas Department of Transportation projects under contract, including a $262 million interchange in Houston."

Doug Pitcock, president, chairman/CEO, Williams Brothers Construction Co. Inc.

• Dr. C. Michael Walton, E.H. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering, University of Texas at Austin: "Mike Walton (1941- ) is the Ernest H. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering and professor of civil engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. Walton's research focuses on intelligent transportation systems, transportation policy and systems analysis. He has published more than 200 articles and reports and has presented more than 250 technical lectures, presentations and keynote addresses. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the nation's highest honor for engineering professionals. He has served in the Office of the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Transportation and the North Carolina State Highway Commission. His more than three decades of policy papers and engineering analyses has earned him numerous awards, including the George S. Bartlett Award-jointly sponsored by the American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials, the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies and ARTBA. In 2002, he was elected chairman of the board of directors of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America. He is a past chairman of the executive committee of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies and currently serves as ARTBA First Vice Chairman."

Dr. C. Michael Walton, E.H. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering, University of Texas at Austin

• Henry Bartell "Pat" Zachry, founder of San Antonio-based Zachry Construction Corp. (formerly H.B. Zachry Co.): "H.B. Pat Zachry's (1901-1984) small company rented mules to move dirt on its first job in 1924. Under his six-decade leadership, the San Antonio-based H.B. Zachry Co. grew into one of the nation's largest construction firms. Zachry's vision and leadership made a lasting impact on Texas and U.S. transportation. He built highways, bridges, airstrips, dams, power plants and pipelines around the world. Zachry served as president of the Associated General Contractors of America. He was named a distinguished alumnus of Texas A&M, where he also chaired the Board of Regents and the university named its Engineering Center for him in 1972. His firm now is called Zachry Construction Corporation and is a diversified industrial and heavy construction provider."

Henry Bartell "Pat" Zachry, founder of San Antonio-based Zachry Construction Corp. (formerly H.B. Zachry Co.)