Fort Worth Business Press, June 2, 2014 Vol. 26, No. 21 | Page 14
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FOCUS: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & REDEVELOPMENT
“I think Texans believe the roadway network is what’s helping spur our economic development.”
photos by scott nishimura
– Alan Greer
Alan Greer, vice president of the transportation and storm water practice at Freese and Nichols, managed Parker County’s bond program, found partnerships that leveraged what voters approved, and completed the program in five years.
q&A: alan greer, Freese and Nichols vice president of the transportation and storm water practice
Infrastructure key
to continued economic development
n Scott Nishimura
[email protected]
F
ort Worth’s Freese and
Nichols engineering firm is
riding high these days, having
managed an $80 million
Parker County bond program to
virtual completion over five years.
The program included the
construction of the Ric Williamson
Memorial Highway through
Weatherford, and the leveraging of the
$80 million in voter-approved funds
with another $37 million in funding
from the North Central Texas Council
of Governments, Texas Department
of Transportation, Aledo city and
schools, and Springtown.
Freese and Nichols, as program
manager, was responsible for the
design of more than 20 projects,
sending them out to bid and choosing
contractors, and ensuring the projects
were built within budget.
“It was really a turnkey process,”
Alan Greer, the transportation practice
leader at Freese and Nichols, said.
Freese and Nichols is helping
Kaufman County put together a
potential capital project today. Greer
is also advocating for Texas voters’
passage in November of a ballot
measure that would divert tax money
from the state’s rainy day fund to pay
for transportation projects.
“We’re continuing to see the
influx of people and the stress on
our infrastructure,” Greer said.
“Transportation is a key component
of that. The challenge has become the
funding to make that happen. [The
Texas measure would be a] good first
step in making that happen.”
Greer, a 50-year Tarrant County
resident and graduate of Arlington
High School, sat down for a recent
Q&A with the Business Press.
How optimistic are you for the election
outcome?
I’m very optimistic. I think
Texans believe the roadway
network is what’s helping spur our
economic development. I do think
you’ll see strong support. The only
derailment (that could happen)
is certain groups tying all this
together from (an anti) tollway
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