S10EP8. America’s First Superhighway: Leading the Pennsylvania Turnpike with Mark Compton

R: A lot of times when we think about transportation infrastructure, we think of specific projects or specific jobs that need to be done. The reality is there are groups of people out there that have to manage not just networks, but different ideas and different processes such as construction, sustainability, safety, and even materials.

B: Today I am interested to learn a little more about what it means to lead some of these agencies and organizations that are dealing with infrastructure on scale, and find out what some of the innovations are that are coming down the line towards our transportation infrastructure.

R: To help us with this conversation today, we've invited Mark Compton with the Pennsylvania Turnpike to be part of the podcast. Welcome, Mark. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do?

MC: Thank you both for having me; I certainly appreciate the opportunity to be here. My name is Mark Compton, and I have served at the Pennsylvania Turnpike as the CEO for the past 13 years. I've been honored to serve along a great group of colleagues, and I think we've done a lot of great things to meet our mission for our customers.

Prior to my time at the Turnpike, I was at PennDOT serving as the Deputy Secretary for Administration for a couple of years. Prior to that, I served in various roles with a highway contractor and a consulting firm. Truth be told, before I got to the Turnpike, my resume looked like a guy who couldn't keep a job. I've been honored to be part of this team for the past 13 years and look forward to talking to you about what we're doing here.

B: You've had a lot of different experience in your career path ranging from public to private. I'm curious what initially drew you to the industry and what has kept you here through all those experiences?

MC: A key part of that has always been relationships for me. It has been the opportunity to work with a lot of great people, and that has kept me energized and engaged. Interestingly, I was with a highway contractor for about six years at the time, and one of my best friends in the world said he was going to throw his hat in the ring to become the Secretary of Transportation. I told him he would be great and offered some suggestions on what PennDOT should work on. He told me I was coming with him. My response was, "The hell I am." I was really enjoying my time with the contractor.

He said we were going to do this together because of the opportunity to get a funding bill within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. That was his charge when he entered as the Secretary. I changed and went back into the Department of Transportation. I served in a position I had seen years before as the Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary for Administration. I worked alongside him for a couple of years until there was a need at the Turnpike due to the resignation of the CEO, and they asked me to come here. What I will tell anybody who has gone back and forth is that the owner's perspective is a lot more fun. It’s a great opportunity to be in public service. We all serve the customer whether you are a contractor or consultant, but I really enjoy the owner's perspective.

R: Sitting in that owner's perspective now, what does a day in the life of the CEO of the Pennsylvania Turnpike entail?

MC: The beauty of this job is that no two days are ever alike. A key part of this has been the opportunity to surround myself with a group of colleagues who are really great at what they do. Our senior team could work anywhere they choose, and I'm honored that they choose to work here alongside me. My role is to eliminate barriers for them. Truth be told, I always want to be surrounded by people I have to slow down as opposed to speed up.

I work with them to make sure they have the tools and resources they need. At times, I walk them through why things are going to happen a little slower than they would like, which is exactly where I want them to be. A key part of it is recruiting at all levels to make sure we have the right folks in the right opportunities serving the customer. It is a people business, and that is what I really love about it.

Above me, I have a group of five commissioners. I always say you can't pick your family or your commissioners, but I'm truly blessed to serve with a group who really have the heart of this place on their minds every day. We only meet twice a month, but we are communicating every day. They continue to push us to be strategically focused, best in class, and to do everything we can on behalf of our customers. That challenge they lay in front of me is what I lay in front of our 1,300 colleagues who work here.

B: The Pennsylvania Turnpike has more than a couple thousand lane miles. Obviously, there is a good amount of construction and maintenance activities to keep that infrastructure in top performing condition. When you think about construction and operating the facility, what are some of the demands from the workforce and your contractor partners that you see?

MC: It has evolved. Our customers are charged a premium to ride our roadway. When you are in a toll facility that charges that premium, you have to think about construction differently. We need traffic to survive, so a key part of that is managing long-term construction projects. We strive to keep two lanes of traffic flowing in each direction through the majority of our construction when possible.

We are also driving a lot of pavement activities toward nights. A key part of that is finding a workforce energized to work at night, which is often difficult. We also have to keep them safe. Our charge is realizing that anybody on our roadway is a partner and part of our family. Our goal is to utilize every tool in our toolbox to keep them safe while also using innovation to see what else is out there. We realize they are just a cone away from a tractor-trailer moving faster than the posted speed.

R: There are two topics that I commonly say are as local as it gets. One is workforce, and the second is sustainability. When you look at the Turnpike, you have different sustainability goals. How do those show up in your everyday decisions and how do you balance them with things like costs, performance, and constructability?

MC: That has been a wide-ranging topic that has infiltrated all parts of our business over the last couple of years. It comes back to managing your strategic plan to ensure sustainability is incorporated in every area. I have a group of passionate individuals running our sustainability committee who step outside of their day jobs but utilize their expertise. They are empowered to make decisions that help us reach our goal to be completely sustainable by 2040.

A key part of that is what we call a "Green Gov" checklist, which is a state project. We are the only state agency in the Commonwealth that has reached 100% for the last three years in a row. I'm really proud of that. It hits all aspects of sustainability, from manning a food bank to having a growing garden, looking at how we can better utilize recycled asphalt, maintaining a pollinator garden, and managing salt usage. One of our crowning achievements has been putting in a solar microgrid. It has been operational for a couple of years, feeding power back into the local utility and generating about $1.5 million in revenue.

Our philosophy is that it is the right thing to do, but we are also managing an organization that is $16 billion in debt. Every aspect of sustainability comes back to how we are going to lessen the burden on our customers related to tolls. We look at longer life, the payback of the microgrid, and everything from equipment to the EV chargers our customers are asking for.

B: Some of those examples sound pretty innovative. The Pennsylvania Turnpike is known to be a leader in innovation, from implementing open road tolling to starting a fiber optic network. What other innovations do you see coming down the line and how will they impact the system?

MC: We celebrated our 85th year last year. We are the oldest toll road in the country, but I love being in growth mode. The opportunities continue from greenfield construction near Pittsburgh to our fiber network, which is now fully functional across our entire footprint. A key part of our strategic plan is "being a better neighbor," and we are exploring how to utilize this fiber.

The fiber was designed for open road tolling, connected and autonomous vehicles, and safety. We only need about 30% of that fiber, so we are actively marketing the other 70% to be connected throughout the Commonwealth. We are talking to schools, economic development groups, and data centers. This provides an opportunity to lessen the burden on our customers by generating revenue while being an asset to the Commonwealth.

Open road tolling is also transformational. Traditional tolling requires a trumpet design interchange, but our system is now completely opened up because we are tolling on the main line. We are having conversations with communities that want access to the Turnpike because we can provide it at a fraction of the cost. For example, at the Breezewood interchange, there was historically a prohibition against connecting a toll road to an interstate. With this new platform, we have the opportunity to do a direct connect from I-70. This will provide massive congestion relief and allow us to reinvent what Breezewood is.

R: We are going into a quick-fire session of the podcast with rapid-fire questions and one-to-two-word answers. First question: One skill every transportation leader needs?

MC: Communicator.

R: Early mornings or late nights?

MC: Early mornings.

R: A piece of technology you couldn't do your job without?

MC: I hate to say it, but the phone.

B: Eagles or Steelers?

MC: Penn State.

R: A word to describe your leadership approach?

MC: Collaborative.

B: You brought up communication. How can agencies better communicate the purpose and pride behind the work to the next generation?

MC: It has to be two-way. One program we are proud of is our CEO internship program. Every summer, we get 10 to 12 junior-level students who are real bright. They do a special project and are tied back to one of our business units. I learn so much from them about what the next generation is thinking. That two-way communication is just as helpful for me as it is for them. We want them to have a good experience whether they stay with us or not.

We push hard on innovation because we want to get them excited. We try to be the "cool kids" in state government. We have an Innovation Council where we try things together. Usually, the risk-reward ratio for innovation in government is messed up; if you fail, you're labeled, but if it works, you just get a pat on the back. We are turning that on its head. We want to try ideas together so they have the support of procurement and legal. Often, our best ideas come from trainees and first-year engineers who bring fresh perspectives from school.

B: In the model where travelers are paying a premium for the tollway, does that drive home the idea that the public is the customer?

MC: I cut my teeth at the DOT early in my career. When I moved to the Turnpike, all I heard was the word "customer." At the DOT, we used "constituent." It is a fundamental change. It shows up in construction where you must keep two lanes open to avoid backlogs and lost tolls. It shows up in winter operations where we are laser-focused on keeping the road clear. It also shows up in incident management. Our operations center feels they have failed if they get a call about a stoppage before they have already identified it through technology. There is a culture of competition between districts to get lanes open as fast as possible. Because we are dependent on revenue, it is a drastically different and necessary model.

R: What advice would you give to someone considering a career in public transportation leadership?

MC: There are advantages to both the public and private sides. Working for a contractor, there is nothing like winning a big job on bid day. In government, we don't celebrate as well, and we need to improve that. But our partners care just as much about the job as we do. It comes down to how you are wired and the role you want to play. I encourage students to try the public side early in their career. That experience will take you very far if you eventually move to the private side. See both sides before you decide.

B: What gives you the most optimism when you think about the future of transportation?

MC: The people interested in the profession. When we started 13 years ago, the engineering department was majority men. Now, at least half of our trainees are female. The diversity of ideas and thought has really helped us be better. We compare favorably with other toll authorities. While others talk about a "brain drain," I am not seeing it here because of the culture we maintain. Our people excite me most for the future.

R: Mark, we really appreciate you taking the time to spend with us today. We wish you the best of luck as you continue to serve the people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

MC: I really appreciate you allowing us to focus on what we are doing at the PA Turnpike Commission. Thank you for the time today.