HDR Taps Kwadwo Atta as Southeast Transit Leader
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
Kwadwo Atta, Southeast Transit Leader, HDR (HDR Photograph)
Kwadwo Atta is the new Southeast Transit Leader for HDR, an Omaha, Neb.-based design firm specializing in engineering, architecture, environmental and construction services.
Based in Atlanta, Ga., Atta works with HDR’s teams and clients to support the development and delivery of multi-disciplinary transit programs with a focus on Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. He advises on the technical, regulatory, financial and operational impacts of transit programs on communities.
Atta has more than 20 years of public- and private-sector experience in rail, streetcar, and bus rapid transit (BRT) project planning, design, program management, and construction management. He also participates in organizations such as the Community Streetcar Coalition, Conference of Minority Transportation Officials, and American Public Transportation Association (APTA), and is an alumnus of the Leadership APTA development program.
Atta served most recently as the City of Atlanta’s Deputy Chief Operating Officer, where he helped shape and execute the City’s infrastructure strategy. His purview encompassed the Watershed Management, Transportation, City Planning, and Department of Enterprise and Asset Management departments, and he had oversight of Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority and Atlanta Beltline Inc.
His previous consulting work at Kimley-Horn and Atkins included various roles in the development and delivery of complex infrastructure programs, including Atlanta’s first BRT system, first streetcar system and State of Good Repair program. Atta began his civil engineering career in the U.K. at WSP, where he worked on the Network Rail Asset Management program and the Channel Tunnel (now HS1) Rail Link Contract 342.
“Kwadwo brings a breadth of global experience in leading critical transit development,” said Matt Tucker, who joined HDR in 2023 as Global Transit Director, following his retirement from North County (San Diego) Transit District. “His extensive work in successfully overseeing the planning and implementation of large transportation projects will be invaluable as communities continue to invest in transit solutions.”
“My entire career has been dedicated to improving transportation systems that support efficient, reliable and equitable access to it,” Kwadwo Atta said. “I’m excited to join a team that has a well-established reputation of leading some of the most transformative public transportation efforts happening today.”
In other HDR news, Transportation Program Management Services Director Erin Slayton has been elected to the Executive Committee of WTS International.
