Joan Morris has been the public affairs manager for the Virginia Department of Transportation since 1987. Her job ranges from informing the public of major traffic construction projects to talking to the media about icy road conditions. Morris started her career on Capitol Hill as a legislative aide, taking what supposed to be a temporary break to work at VDOT for a few months. She has stayed for 20 years.
Describe what you do.
I‘m responsible for making sure we get out the word about our programs and projects, such as the Springfield Interchange, which we just finished. We were responsible for developing an eight-year communication plan to make sure motorists and other stakeholders were informed about everything from how the project was being built to how they were going to survive their commute.
What are some up-and-coming major road projects motorists would probably like to know about?
Construction will begin this spring on Beltway HOT lanes. This is a new animal because these are toll lanes and the toll will be based on congestion. People want to know about it.
What is the most interesting part of the job?
Anything with a little political flavor is always a little entertaining to me. That is what keeps it fresh and interesting and new. Commuters in this area are very vocal, and transportation is a hot topic. It doesn’t get very stale.
Describe one of the more difficult days on the job.
In the early 1990s when we put an HOV-3 lane on the Dulles Toll Road. It was an absolute disaster. Nobody was in the HOV, lane and the other lanes were blocked up. That was a great lesson for us and as a result, we did community outreach and we ended up coming back and making it an HOV-2 lane. –
