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Congratulations to the 2023 WTS Metropolitan Phoenix Chapter Honorable Ray Lahood Award recipient, Robert Samour, PE.  Rob began his career with the Arizona Department of Transportation in 1996 and has spent most of his early career working as a district engineer and resident engineer. In October 2009, Robert was appointed to the position of Deputy State Engineer for Valley Transportation in the State Engineer’s Office. In May of 2014 he was asked to lead the Major Projects Group which includes the South Mountain Public Private Partnership project and the I-10 Broadway Curve Improvement Project. He is a graduate from New Mexico State University with a Bachelor Degree in Civil Engineering Technology and a Masters in Public Administration. He is a Registered Professional Civil Engineer in Arizona and California. 

Rob shared some of his passions both on the job and off.

What has influenced you the most in your career?

My biggest influence in my career was family.  My father worked for the New Jersey Department of Transportation for 37 years.  I always enjoy sharing stories about the projects I was working on with him.  I also enjoy sharing stories, and even project tours, with my wife and children.  They have been my biggest supporters.  Here in the Phoenix metro area, especially when the loop system was being built, many people were interested in when this project would start, or when that project would finish.  People loved our freeway opening parties and getting to see what it was like to walk, run or ride a bicycle on the road before it was open to traffic.  It gave me and my family a real sense of pride knowing we had a little something to do with delivering the transportation system to the citizens of Arizona.  I have been fortunate to pass on transportation legacy to my son, who interned at ADOT for a number of years and who is now working for a local consultant as an EIT looking to get his PE license in Civil Engineering.

Why do you feel it’s important to support the advancement of women in the transportation industry?

I never set out to advance one group or another.  Supporting good people to advance in their careers is one of the most important roles we all have as leaders in the transportation community.  I was very lucky to be surrounded by great people who wanted to do great things.  The women on our team are some of the best in the business.  They all do the heavy lifting.  My job was to remove roadblocks in their way and support them so they can be successful.

What is something most people don’t know about you?

On weekends I enjoy helping my friends out with their racecar at the local dirt tracks in Arizona with occasional travel out of state if that’s where we are racing that weekend.  I also play bass in a band with my wife and other friends that I met at ADOT.

If you could trade places with anyone for a day, who would you choose?

As mentioned above I enjoy racing and playing music.  If I could switch places with someone for a day it would be with someone from NASCAR, like Kyle Larson, who races in major events at a national level on Sunday and then goes to a local dirt track another night that week and races with local teams.  If that was not possible, I would switch places with someone playing in one of the classic rock bands that I grew up with.