The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently filled two senior positions.
Brandye Hendrickson was appointed deputy administrator. She will lead the 2,900-employee agency and oversee its $44 billion annual budget. In addition, she will co-chair two working committees and direct the execution of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act.
Hendrickson previously served as commissioner of the Indiana Department of Transportation and as deputy commissioner of Indiana’s Greenfield District.
Mala Krishnamoorti Parker was appointed associate administrator for policy. She formerly served as vice president for coalitions for the American Trucking Associations and at U.S. Department of Labor.
The appointments come days after the FHWA delayed its rule requiring regions and states to measure carbon pollution generated from vehicles traveling on the National Highway System. The rule was the final step in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) transportation law of 2012 and also established pollution reduction targets.
No public comments or notices proceeded the announcement. When the rule was issued in January, the FHWA received more than 100,000 comments supporting the regulation.
MAP-21 was designed to improve how federal dollars are spent for transportation.
In 2016, the Congressional Budget Office had said spending does not correspond with how roads are valued and used.