After guiding the FasTracks transit system effort since developing the groundwork in 1998, Liz Rao is moving on to the national scene.
Rao said Monday that an offer to be national transit development director for HNTB Corp. was “a natural step for me in my passion for transit.”
Rao, who has been with the Regional Transportation District for 13 years after coming from the New York Transit Authority, will assist HNTB’s clients throughout the country.
HNTB Corp. is a transportation-infrastructure firm with 60 offices nationwide. Rao will be based in Denver.
The firm works with private and public clients, including Charlotte, N.C.; Newark, N.J.; and Los Angeles, on the design, engineering and planning of transit projects.
“There have been a lot of opportunities that have come my way in the last few years, and this one is kind of right up my alley,” Rao said, referring to what she called “my passion for transit.”
FasTracks spokeswoman Pauletta Tonilas said Rao’s work with a big program such as FasTracks — from doing the groundwork in 1998 to battling market forces prevalent in the transit industry today — “is an attractive thing” for HNTB.
Rao said there have been “a lot of lessons learned” on FasTracks, a 112-mile metro Denver transit expansion with six train lines and two rail extensions.
All transportation projects are struggling with rapidly escalating costs, just as FasTracks has been.
Since being approved by voters in 2004, the FasTracks price tag has skyrocketed from $4.9 billion to $7.9 billion due to costs of materials and fuel.
Rao said she is not leaving because of the FasTracks troubles, adding, “This is an opportunity for promotion for me. I will always support RTD.”
Jefferson County Commissioner Kevin McCasky has worked extensively with Rao on the West Corridor light-rail line.
“I have the utmost respect for her,” McCasky said. “She’s sharp, and she’s going to have big shoes to fill for RTD.”
McCasky said even though there have been stresses as the FasTracks budget soared, “we could always rely on her to give us the straight facts.”
Rao’s last day with RTD will be Sept. 26. A national search for her successor is expected.
Ann Schrader: 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com
