WSP announces new appointee in Chicago office

24 October 2018


USA — Chris Ferguson has been appointed central region transit and rail market lead for WSP USA, the company announced October 22.

In his new role, Ferguson, who will be based in the firm’s Chicago office, will drive business development, pursuits and strategy, synchronize teaming relationships, lead coordination and communications with clients and partners, and support technical projects.

Ferguson has more than a decade of transit and rail industry expertise, including with Class One freight railroads, and projects for transportation agencies such as Metra (Chicago), the Chicago Transit Authority, SunRail (Florida), the Utah Transit Authority, and Rio Metro (New Mexico). He continues to work with various agencies on positive train control implementation as they strive to meet regulatory deadlines. 

“Chris is a strong rail systems manager with a successful track record defining and executing strategy, managing programs and projects, improving process, and engaging stakeholders,” said Julie D’Orazio, senior vice president and WSP’s national market leader for transit and rail. 

“Chris has exceptional skills in cultivating solutions to highly technical challenges. He does this by proactively seeking the perspectives of stakeholders with widely differing goals, and crafting win-win scenarios,” added Phil Pasterak, vice president and director of WSP’s transit & rail group. 

WSP has extensive experience with all forms of mass transit—heavy and light rail, streetcars and people movers, and bus rapid transit. The firm combines knowledge in engineering design and construction-phase services with strategic consulting, land use planning, and program management to provide clients with comprehensive support from inception through operations, with a strong emphasis on making transportation infrastructure truly sustainable. The firm’s experience in transit-oriented development aids clients in fostering the creation of vibrant, livable communities centered on transit. The firm is rail delivery partner to the California High-Speed Rail Authority for a statewide high-speed rail system, and is providing engineering support for the Texas Bullet Train between Houston and Dallas. The firm is also contributing to the advancement of rail systems in Seattle; Los Angeles; Minneapolis; Salt Lake City; San Francisco; Chicago; Durham, North Carolina; and Buffalo, New York.