[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 74 (Friday, June 7, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E988-E989]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  IN HONOR OF ROBERT ``BOB'' SASSAMAN, WHO RETIRES AFTER 40 YEARS OF 
                      PUBLIC SERVICE WITH CALTRANS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 6, 2002

  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Robert W. 
``Bob'' Sassaman, District Director for Caltrans District 7, who will 
celebrate his retirement from public service after an exemplary 40-year 
career at Caltrans.
  Sassaman, an outstanding engineer and able administrator, was 
appointed as District Director on October 19, 1999, responsible for 
overseeing a vast and immensely complex transportation system in 
District 7, including 27 freeways and state highways spanning Los 
Angeles and Ventura counties. Sassaman, who had served as Chief Deputy 
for four years prior, had served as interim District Director since 
March of 1999 after Governor Gray Davis tapped then-District Director 
Tony Harris to serve as Caltrans Chief Deputy Director in Sacramento.
  Prior to his tenure as Chief Deputy, Sassaman was Deputy District 
Director for

[[Page E989]]

Project Management at Caltrans District 8 in San Bernardino, a post he 
held since 1988. In that capacity, he was responsible for directing a 
professional engineering staff in the development, design and delivery 
of highway projects totaling in excess of $100 million a year. Sassaman 
was a member of a team that helped develop the project management 
concept at Caltrans, and later helped implement the system in District 
8. The district was the first one in the state to use ``single hat'' 
project managers to streamline the process of delivering transportation 
improvements. He also was a facilitator at the project management 
academies that taught the system to Caltrans supervisors.
  Among Sassaman's other career highlights are supervising the design 
of the complex Simi Valley/San Diego Freeway interchange--now named the 
Ronald Reagan Freeway 118/405--in the San Fernando Valley area of Los 
Angeles.
  Sassaman was born in Neptune, NJ, but grew up in Phillipsburg, on the 
Pennsylvania border. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil 
Engineering from Lafayette College in Easton, PA, and a Master of 
Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Southern 
California. He also completed course work at California State 
University, Long Beach, and Mount San Antonio College in Walnut, CA, in 
business management. He holds a certificate in real estate from Mount 
San Antonio College.
  Sassaman was hired at Caltrans District 7 as a junior civil engineer 
in July 1962; and held a variety of positions within the district over 
the next 26 years. They included Design Project Engineer of the 118/405 
Freeway interchange; Resource Management Section Chief, Project 
Management Section Chief, Hydraulics Section Chief, Management Services 
Branch Chief; and Deputy District Director for Administration.
  Sassaman is registered as a Professional Engineer in California 
(Civil), and is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and 
the Project Management Institute.
  There are few tasks as monumental in southern California as 
overseeing our regional freeway system with a commitment to responding 
to local needs and concerns, and for his dedication to better serving 
the commuting public of southern California as well as Caltrans 
employees, I ask all Members of Congress to join me in congratulating 
Bob Sassaman upon his retirement.

                          ____________________