Nov 11, 2020ELR Welcomes Paul Graham to our Staff!

Paul brings 42 years of experience and is a welcomed addition to the E.L. Robinson Engineering Transportation Planning Section. He was employed at the Ohio DOT (ODOT) for more than 32 years in various positions, including staff archaeologist, transportation planner, District 5 environmental coordinator, and Assistant Environmental Administrator in the Office of Environmental Services. In this last position, he served as head of ODOT’s Cultural Resource Management program from 1997 to 2011, overseeing ODOT compliance with Section 106 of the NHPA and Section 4(f) for historic sites under the DOT Act. He supervised the archaeology and history/architecture staff and led the agency’s historic bridge management program. He also had general NEPA responsibilities in that position. During his last two years, he oversaw all Section 4(f) compliance.

Paul was the primary author of the first Section 106 delegation PA between ODOT, FHWA, the Ohio Historic Preservation Office, and the ACHP. He authored two process Memoranda of Understanding, one state-funded project agreement, and worked on many project-specific Memoranda of Agreement.

He has extensive experience with public involvement under NEPA, Section 106, and Section 4(f). He conducted tribal consultation on behalf of FHWA. He was the primary author of several manuals related to cultural resource management/Section 106 compliance, project development, Section 4(f), and NEPA for ODOT. His experience includes working with communities on Context Sensitive Solutions, and he assisted in developing the ODOT Aesthetic Design Guidelines. He also worked with the ODOT Division of Rail Transportation on rail projects and helped plan and develop statewide multi-use trails. He has worked as a private consultant since 2012. He has been involved with the NCHRP research program for many years, having worked on 14 NCHRP projects (ten as a panelist; four as a consultant). In addition, he is an award-winning photographer.