After a national search, the City of Arlington has named Mindy Gowdy Carmichael as its new Public Works and Transportation Director.
Carmichael began her career with Arlington nearly 19 years ago as a civil engineer and worked her way through the ranks to become Operations Assistant Director, where her responsibilities included managing the City 's $16 million Street Maintenance Sales Tax Program, the multimillion dollar Capital Improvement Program and about 175 full and part-time employees in Traffic Engineering, Traffic Operations and Street Maintenance.
'Mindy is certainly a respected leader in the organization and has nearly two decades of service to the City. Her experience with the Texas Department of Transportation and regional transportation agencies, along with her understanding of complex capital projects, will be valuable in helping Arlington maintain, improve and expand its infrastructure, 'City Manager Trey Yelverton said.
Carmichael, who takes on her new role August 15, is the City 's first female Public Works and Transportation Director.
'I am vested here through my professional accomplishments and the relationships that I have created and nurtured, and most importantly because my roots are in Arlington,” said Carmichael, who grew up and attended public schools in Arlington, graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington and raised her children in the city. 'Arlington is not just my career, it 's my home.”
Before joining the City in 1997, Carmichael worked seven years as a Texas Department of Transportation engineer in advanced project management.
After 14 years as project engineer/civil engineer and engineering operation manager with the City of Arlington, Carmichael was named Public Works and Transportation Operations Assistant Director in 2011. In that role, she continued building and maintaining positive relationships not only between Arlington and TxDOT but also with other key regional transportation players, such as the North Central Texas Council of Governments and Union Pacific Rail Road.
Other accomplishments include researching, planning and implementing a 10,500 LED street light conversion project that saves the City $445,000 annually, designing and implementing traffic management plans for the growing Entertainment District and expanding and upgrading the Intelligent Transportation System to improve citywide mobility.
Besides overseeing the Street Maintenance Program and Capital Improvement Program to keep traffic flowing smoothly today, Carmichael is working to prepare Arlington 's transportation infrastructure for the future of connected and autonomous vehicles.
Former Public Works and Transportation Director Keith Melton retired in March after 32 years with the City. David Wynn has served as interim director while the City conducted a national search.
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