Gary Ridley (transport director)

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Gary Ridley

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Ridley speaking at the opening ceremonies for the new Crosstown Expressway in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation
Assumed office
April 10, 2009
Governor Brad Henry
Mary Fallin
Preceded by Phil Tomlinson
Director of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation
In office
August, 2001 –March 31, 2013
Governor Frank Keating
Brad Henry
Mary Fallin
Preceded by Herschal Crow
Succeeded by Mike Patterson
Director of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority
In office
November 1, 2009 –March 31, 2013
Governor Brad Henry
Mary Fallin
Preceded by Phil Tomlinson
Succeeded by Tim Stewart
Personal details
Born 1945
Chicago, Illinois
Residence Yukon, Oklahoma
Occupation Engineer

Gary Ridley, PE, (born 1945) is an American engineer from the state of Oklahoma who is the current Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation, having served since he was appointed by Governor of Oklahoma Brad Henry in 2009. In addition to his service as Transportation Secretary, Ridley also served concurrently as both the Director of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (2001–2013) and the Director of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (2009–2013).

Engineer professional practitioner of engineering and its sub classes

Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build, and test machines, systems, structures and materials to fulfill objectives and requirements while considering the limitations imposed by practicality, regulation, safety, and cost. The word engineer is derived from the Latin words ingeniare and ingenium ("cleverness"). The foundational qualifications of an engineer typically include a four-year bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline, or in some jurisdictions, a master's degree in an engineering discipline plus four to six years of peer-reviewed professional practice and passage of engineering board examinations.

Oklahoma State of the United States of America

Oklahoma is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, Texas on the south, New Mexico on the west, and Colorado on the northwest. It is the 20th-most extensive and the 28th-most populous of the fifty United States. The state's name is derived from the Choctaw words okla and humma, meaning "red people". It is also known informally by its nickname, "The Sooner State", in reference to the non-Native settlers who staked their claims on land before the official opening date of lands in the western Oklahoma Territory or before the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889, which dramatically increased European-American settlement in the eastern Indian Territory. Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory were merged into the State of Oklahoma when it became the 46th state to enter the union on November 16, 1907. Its residents are known as Oklahomans, and its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City.

Governor of Oklahoma head of state and of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma

The governor of the State of Oklahoma is the head of state for the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the Oklahoma executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The governor is the ex officio Commander-in-Chief of the Oklahoma National Guard when not called into federal use. Despite being an executive branch official, the governor also holds legislative and judicial powers. The governor's responsibilities include making yearly "State of the State" addresses to the Oklahoma Legislature, submitting the annual state budget, ensuring that state laws are enforced, and that the peace is preserved. The governor's term is four years in length.

Contents

Department of Transportation

Ridley joined the Oklahoma Department of Transportation in 1965, when he started as an equipment operator. He moved up to maintenance superintendent at Kingfisher, Oklahoma in 1970 and traffic superintendent at Perry, Oklahoma in 1979. In 1983 he became field maintenance engineer at Perry, then advanced to Division Five Maintenance Engineer at Clinton, Oklahoma in 1986. He became Division Engineer at Clinton in 1995.

Oklahoma Department of Transportation government agency

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) is an agency of the government of Oklahoma responsible for the construction and maintenance of the state's transportation infrastructure. Under the leadership of the Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation and ODOT Executive Director, the Department maintains public infrastructure that includes highways and state-owned railroads. Along with the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, the Department is the primary infrastructure construction and maintenance agency of the State.

Kingfisher, Oklahoma City in Oklahoma, United States

Kingfisher is a city in and the county seat of Kingfisher County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 4,633 at the 2010 census. It is the former home and namesake of Kingfisher College. According to the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, Kingfisher is now primarily a bedroom community for people employed in Enid and Oklahoma City.

Perry, Oklahoma City in Oklahoma, United States

Perry is a city in, and county seat of, Noble County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 5,126, a 2.0 percent decrease from 5,230 at the 2000 census The city is arguably best known as the birthplace of Ditch Witch construction equipment, and for its decades-long excellence in high school wrestling.

He left ODOT in 1997 to become executive director of the Oklahoma Asphalt Paving Association. He returned to the department in January 2001 as Assistant Director for Operations. In August 2009, Ridley was appointed by the Oklahoma Transportation Commission as the Director of the Transportation Department. As Director, Ridley was responsible for managing the Department through the crisis caused by the I-40 bridge disaster, and the reconstruction in the summer of 2002.

I-40 bridge disaster

The I-40 bridge disaster was a bridge collapse that occurred southeast of Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, United States at 7:45 a.m. on May 26, 2002. Joe Dedmon, captain of the towboat Robert Y. Love, experienced a fainting spell and lost control of the tow. This, in turn, caused the barges he was controlling to collide with a bridge pier. The result was a 580-foot (176.78 m) section of the Interstate 40 bridge plunging into Robert S. Kerr Reservoir on the Arkansas River. By the time traffic stopped and individuals became aware of the missing road, 8 passenger vehicles and 3 truck tractor-semitrailer combinations had fallen into the river or on collapsed bridge pieces. Fourteen people died and eleven others were injured when several automobiles and tractor-trailers fell from the bridge. Survivors were aided by fishermen who were participating in a bass fishing tournament in the river near the bridge.

Ridley retired from his post as Director of the Transportation Department on March 31, 2013, after serving 12 years in that post and 44 years with the department overall. [1]

Turnpike Authority

In October, 2009, former Transportation Secretary Phil Tomlinson retired as Director of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority effective November 1, 2009. The Authority then appointed Secretary Ridley to succeed Tomlinson as Director. With his appointment as Turnpike Director, Ridley is the first person to serve concurrently as Transportation Secretary, Transportation Department Director and Turnpike Authority Director since Neal A. McCaleb in 1999 under Governor Frank Keating. [2]

Oklahoma Turnpike Authority government agency

The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority is a government agency of Oklahoma that deals with issues regarding the Oklahoma turnpike system. Along with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, the Authority is the primary infrastructure construction and maintenance agency of the State.

Frank Keating American politician

Francis Anthony "Frank" Keating II is an American attorney and politician who served as the 25th governor of Oklahoma from 1995 to 2003.

Ridley retired as Director of OTA the same day that he retired from ODOT. [1]

Secretary of Transportation

Henry Administration

Governor of Oklahoma Brad Henry appointed Ridley as his second Secretary of Transportation following the resignation of Phil Tomlinson in 2009. [3] As Transportation Secretary, Ridley has supervision over all state transportation initiatives and the entities charged with implementing them, including the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, the Oklahoma Transportation Authority, the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission, the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority and all Port Authorities within the state.

During the Henry administration, Ridley served as Transportation Secretary concurrently with his position as Transportation Department Director, which gave him direct control over that department.

Fallin Administration

On November 29, 2010, Governor-elect Mary Fallin announced that she would retain Ridley as Secretary of Transportation in her Administration. Fallin would also retain Ridley as the Director of both the Department of Transportation and the Turnpike Authority. [4]

Personal life

Ridley is a native of Chicago, Illinois and a registered professional engineer. He and his wife, Eula, live in Yukon, Oklahoma and have two children, Daphne and Joe.

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References

  1. 1 2 "State Leaders Praise Ridley's Long Career in State Transportation" (PDF) (Press release). Oklahoma Department of Transportation. March 29, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  2. ↑ Price, Marie (2009-11-03). "Oklahoma Transportation Commission OKs final road-grading contract". The Journal Record.
  3. ↑ Packham, Jeff (2009-04-10). "Gov. Henry applauds Tomlinson's service, names new Transportation Secretary". Office of the Governor of Oklahoma.
  4. ↑ Governor-elect Fallin will retain Gary Ridley as Secretary of Transportation and ODOT Director Archived 2010-12-01 at the Wayback Machine ., Office of Governor-elect Mary Fallin, 11-29-10
Political offices
Preceded by
Herschal Crow 		Director of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation
Under Governors Frank Keating, Brad Henry and Mary Fallin
August, 2001 – March 31, 2013 		Succeeded by
Mike Patterson
Preceded by
Phil Tomlinson 		Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation
Under Governors Brad Henry and Mary Fallin
April 10, 2009 – present 		Incumbent
Director of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority
Under Governors Brad Henry and Mary Fallin
November 1, 2009 – March 31, 2013 		Succeeded by
Tim Stewart
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