Walter C. "Butch" Waidelich, Jr.

Executive Director, Office of the Administrator

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

On March 20, 2016, Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau appointed Walter "Butch" Waidelich to be Executive Director of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). In this capacity, Mr. Waidelich manages the daily operations of the Agency and a workforce of 2,900 transportation professionals. He advises the Administrator on programs and priorities for the Agency, and its $44 billion budget.

Previously, Mr. Waidelich served as the Agency's Associate Administrator for Infrastructure, where he oversaw the development and administration of national highway programs, technical and program assistance for improving highway and bridge infrastructure, and the Federal highway program performance. He provided leadership and strategic direction to a professional staff of 100 highway, bridge and related engineering experts, as well as guidance to over 1500 professionals throughout the FHWA in developing and implementing the agency's Federal-aid highway program.

He led the development and deployment of new and innovative materials, technologies, methods, tools, and programs to State DOT and related industry groups in support of FHWA's Every Day Counts initiative to shorten transportation project delivery time.

Mr. Waidelich is a graduate of the Colorado School of Mines, where he earned a B.S. in Mining Engineering. Later, he served as an Engineer Officer in the U.S. Army. In 1988, he joined the FHWA's Highway Engineer Training Program and served in progressive field assignments that led to him becoming the FHWA Division Administrator in Utah and, later, California. He also served as the FHWA's Director of Field Services–West, where he supervised 13 western state Division Offices with a collective program size of over $8 billion and a staff of over 300. He provided executive leadership and direction in assuring that western division offices accomplish the strategic goals, objectives, mission and vision of the FHWA and the U.S. Department of Transportation.