Ceason Clemens
(Photo courtesy of TxDOT)
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has announced that Ceason Clemens has been named Dallas District engineer.
Effective Oct. 1, Clemens will oversee the planning, designing, building, operation and maintenance of the state transportation system for the seven-county Dallas District. She has served as the Dallas District's deputy district engineer since 2018. The district is comprised of Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Kaufman, Navarro and Rockwall counties.
As deputy district engineer, Clemens oversaw the daily operations of the 900-employee district, including construction, operations and maintenance. She also managed a portfolio of $2 billion in traditional construction projects, up to $5 billion in design-build projects and a portfolio of projects in planning valued at $28 billion.
Under her leadership in Dallas, the district brought the Southern Gateway project to substantial completion; completed the procurement and started construction of the $709 million I-35E phase 2 project; and launched construction of the $1.7 billion LBJ East project.
"I am honored to have the opportunity to lead the Dallas District and continue its legacy of strong leadership," Clemens said. "I'm fortunate to have a strong team that will continue to work closely with all our regional partners to plan, build and maintain thousands of miles of roadways in North Texas."
Clemens began her TxDOT career as a summer hire in the Bryan District. She joined the Dallas District after graduating from Texas A&M University in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering. She started as an engineering assistant in the Collin County Area Office, graduating from the district's engineering rotation program and later serving as design manager. While in Collin County, she managed construction of Texas' first single point urban interchange at U.S. 75 and Parker Road. In 2011, she moved to the district's project delivery office to work on procurement and construction of the $798 million design-build project known as the Horseshoe, which rebuilt the downtown Mixmaster. Clemens then became the district's alternate delivery engineer, a role where she oversaw construction of multiple design-build projects that together were valued at $3.7 billion.
Clemens was named the director of transportation planning and development in August 2017 and was named the deputy Dallas District engineer in July 2018.
The Plano native is the 2019 recipient of the Gibb Gilchrist Award for outstanding service to the state of Texas in TxDOT. She also received the prestigious Dr. L.I. Hewes Award in 2020 from the Western Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. And in 2021, Clemens led a Dallas District I-30 Canyon planning team that earned the President's Award for planning from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
Clemens' appointment fills the vacancy left by Mo Bur, who accepted the role of statewide director of project delivery in September 2022.
Other Appointments
TxDOT also announced David Salazar as the district engineer of the Fort Worth District, Rebecca Wells as the district engineer of the Atlanta District and Greg Snider as the director of the alternative delivery division (ALD).
David Salazar
A 31-year veteran of both TxDOT and private construction, Salazar began his career with Kiewit Construction in 1992 as a project engineer, then with TxDOT in 1995 as an engineering assistant at the Del Rio area office. In 2001, he left TxDOT briefly to work in the private sector. Returning to TxDOT in 2004, Salazar joined the San Angelo District as district materials engineer until his selection as Carrizo Springs area engineer in 2006.
Salazar was appointed Laredo District director of maintenance in 2011. His leadership was instrumental during the district's pavement preservation and reconstruction period of the Eagle Ford Shale boom years, which caused considerable challenges to the state's transportation system. Salazar was appointed Laredo District engineer in 2017. In this capacity, he was instrumental in structuring and managing a record-setting $1.62-billion 10-year UTP for the Laredo District.
Salazar graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering in 1992.
Rebecca Wells
Wells began her career as a summer hire in the Bryan District. Upon graduation from Texas A&M University in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering, she worked for two years for KSA Engineers in Longview, Texas. In April 2001, Wells returned to TxDOT in the Atlanta District. As a young engineer, Wells worked and rotated through design, advance planning, construction, lab and traffic. In 2006, Wells began working in traffic operations full time. In 2014, she was named the District traffic engineer and in 2018 she was named the director of transportation operations of the Atlanta District.
Much of her career has been focused on system safety. She is a member of the Safety Task Force, MPO Safety Task Force, Council on System Safety and is on three NCHRP research panels focused on speed limits, LED illumination, and balance of safety and mobility.
Greg Snider
In his new role, Snider will be responsible for the department's alternative delivery program. Snider earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in civil engineering from Texas A&M University at College Station.
In 2013, Snider joined the TxDOT team as part of the Strategic Projects Division and later the Houston District's Strategic Project Office. Within this office, he served as project manager of two of Houston's alternative delivery projects: Grand Parkway Segments F1, F2 and G; and the SH 288 Toll Lanes Project. In 2020, Snider joined the Project Finance, Debt and Strategic Contracts Division as the strategic contracts management section branch manager.
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