Allan Rutter, chief executive of the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) is stepping down Feb 21, after two years in the job. Rutter says he wants to work on tollroads in the private sector.

Jerry Hiebert, a former executive director for six years before Rutter, has been appointed Acting CEO. Hiebert does not want the job on a permanent basis so they are looking for a new CEO. The deputy executive director position became vacant recently when Matt Dominy resigned. Rick Herrington is filling that position on an acting basis.

Hiebert and Herrington both come immediately from HNTB.

In a press statement Rutter is quoted: "It has been a remarkable two years at the Authority as we built a record of achieving very positive results. I am fortunate to have had the privilege of heading an industry-leading team of exceptionally creative, dedicated and intelligent professionals at the NTTA who are delivering customer-focused services that add value for North Texans, expanding mobility choices by building and planning much-needed infrastructure, and partnering with community leaders to support regionally-directed innovative project delivery and financing alternatives."

During Rutter's time at NTTA they broke ground on Phase 3 of the Dallas North Tollway, to extend it north from TX121 to US380 and on the Lewisville Lake Toll Bridge. They opened the so-called Superconnector, the super-difficult to permit and delayed segment of the President George Bush Turnpike, gained agreements with TxDOT on the eastern extension of the PGBT to I-30, and advanced design work on the Southwest Parkway south of Ft Worth.

Rutter came to NTTA from CEO of the Federal Railroad Administration, and worked with Gov Bush and Perry in texas as their transport policy director.

BACKGROUND: NTTA's revenue in 2005 was $178m based on 932k transactions per average day on 87km (54mi) of urban tollroad consisting of the Dallas North Tollway (DNT), a northern radial out of downtown Dallas and the President George Bush Turnpike (PGBT), a near half circle route that crosses the DNT about midway.

The Dallas North Tollway was the world pioneer of transponder tolling 19 years ago and they now do 75% of transactions electronically. All the mainline toll plazas on the DNT and the new PGBT are set up for highway speed or open road electronic tolling.

NTTA is owned by the state of Texas.TOLLROADSnews 2007-02-14