Running the roads

After a 31-year tenure with the Shelby County Highway Department, County Engineer Randy Cole will retire effective Sept. 1, 2022.

“I never thought I'd be here for 31 years,” Cole said during the May 9 Shelby County Commission meeting when he announced his upcoming retirement. “I thought I’d stay five years and then do something else. I came looking for a job and found a career and it's been a good ride.”

Cole’s role

Cole said his career has been something of a journey. After obtaining his degree in civil engineering from UAB and gaining some experience in the private sector, he became the assistant county engineer for Shelby County in January 1991. Just 14 months later, in March 1992, Cole took over the role of county engineer.

“Not long after I came to work, I realized we were in bad financial condition and bankruptcy was being considered,” Cole said. “When I first came, bankruptcy was being discussed and I was concerned. We worked through all issues and came out on the backside of that much stronger and under much better management.”

When Cole began, the county had two dump trucks, one of which was deemed unsafe to drive, he said. There was no equipment replacement program and the county was short on projects due to lack of funds. Cole said the county currently has lots of well paid employees, equipment replacement programs and is confident roads in Shelby County are as well maintained as any in the state.

As the county engineer, Cole managed an engineering staff of eight licensed professional engineers, five NBIS certified bridge inspectors, a road department with about 100 employees and an annual budget of approximately $19 million.

Through the highway department office, the county is responsible for maintaining approximately 961 miles of public roads, which includes 151 miles of subdivision roads and 116 miles of rural unpaved roads. The county also maintains 191 NBIS-Length bridges and hundreds more structures less than 20 feet in length.

However, the county has no authority or responsibility for state roads, U.S. routes or interstates. The highway department is only responsible for maintaining the county roads.

“Since I've been here, we’ve replaced over 100 bridges and are still doing more,” Cole said. “We’ve replaced over half bridges of which are 30 years or less. We have resurfaced, this year, almost $6 million worth of roads, and for the last few years we’ve done over $5 million worth of resurfacing. Our county roads stack up to anyone in the state and the nation.”

Working with the commission

Cole said things in his department have run smoothly because of the funding and support received from the Shelby County Commission. They provide the funding and support needed to hire the people, purchase the equipment and give the freedom to do the projects, Cole said.

He has been able to do a lot of good things during his tenure and he couldn’t have done it without the commission. Cole said the county's transportation system reflects that, and as a county entity Shelby County is the envy of the state.

“It may be surprising for folks to know there's not a lot of political involvement in the projects we do,” he said. “The commission doesn't dictate which roads are paved or which bridges get replaced, therefore we’re able to put the money where it is needed the most and get more bang for the buck for the taxpayers and the commission deserves the credit for that.”

He said the commission does a very good job of trying to keep the county pay schedules competitive and it’s very common for employees to spend their career with the county until they retire. Cole was the longest tenured employee at the highway department, the next employee isn’t far behind with 28 years.

“I hired every person at the highway department and I love all my employees,” he said. “Our staff is second to none. “No county has a better staff than we do, period. The condition of our roads is second to none in the state and we’re able to maintain that because the commission grants us that authority. Our bridge inspection program is considered the best in the state at the county level. We just have outstanding people.”

Regarding the maintenance and construction done in house, Cole said there are skilled employees who now have all the equipment to do many of the projects. The county has the ability to build small bridges and maintain rights of way (mowing, herbicide application, ditch cleaning and striping) and also maintains a sign shop to manufacture many of their own signs. There is also a service shop that services every vehicle the county owns, including heavy equipment used by the highway equipment, parks and recreation, landfill and every other piece of equipment.

Former county manager Alex Dudchock said that during his long tenure, Cole was very instrumental in growing the capabilities of the Shelby County Highway Department's operating units from primarily a road maintenance and repair organization to a full service department.

“He advocated the employment of skilled construction personnel, mechanics, and engineers that increased the productivity and efficiencies in road and bridge repair, maintenance, new construction, increased capacities and many safety improvements,” Dudchock said. “Randy secured significant funds for our county through his many years of service on the Metropolitan Planning Organization working through the “red tape” of federal and state funding programs. His fingerprints are on all of the major road and bridge capacity improvements implemented during the last 30 years in Shelby County.”

Looking back on his tenure

One thing that Cole said gives him satisfaction in leaving is that everything is in very good shape, all the programs, policies and projects.

“Everything we’ve got in place, the next county engineer ought to be able to pick up and add new energy and new ideas and take it better than I ever could. It's comforting to be in this kind of position and the commission has facilitated that.

Cole said some of most memorable moments in his career were being named county engineer of Alabama twice and being named national county engineer of the year in 2012.

“That knocked my socks off to get that award,” he said. “Some of the people most proud to have in my profession. To be named urban co engineer was probably one of the brightest spots in my career. That was a tremendous honor.”

Other honors on the top of his list were being honored by his alma mater. He received the 2005 Outstanding Alumnus Award from the UAB School of Engineering, named one of the 40 Engineers Making a Difference and received the award for outstanding leadership.

Next in line

The commission approved the Chief Development Officer David Willingham to be the next county engineer at the June 27 commission meeting. Willingham is a Licensed Professional Engineer with more than 26 years of experience in engineering design and management. He and his wife live in Chelsea and have four children. David Willingham will have been with Shelby County three years in September.

Future plans

Cole said he considers himself very blessed to have had the opportunity to serve the people of Shelby County for over 30 years. While he doesn't have any plans at this point, Cole said he won’t be doing anything until after hunting season is over. He plans to hunt and fish and then see what opportunities present themselves. Cole, who recently turned 60, said he is looking forward to spending time with his family and being Papa to his 21-month-old grandson.

“I’m not sure what the future holds,” Cole said. “If I enjoy all of the time off, I may continue to do it, or if the right opportunity presents itself, I could go back to work. I’m not actively pursuing anything. I'm not going to disappear though, I'll still be around.”