Russell R. McMurry, P.E. 

Commissioner
Georgia Department of Transportation  

Russell R. McMurry, P.E., serves as commissioner for the Georgia Department of Transportation, the state agency responsible for the nation’s 10th largest state transportation system, with an operating 

budget of over $4 billion and a staff of nearly 3,900. Commissioner McMurry began his career with the department in 1990 as an engineering intern working in construction; he served in a variety of roles prior to being named chief engineer. He was then appointed by Governor Nathan Deal as the department’s planning director before being appointed as commissioner by unanimous vote of the State Transportation Board in 2015. 

McMurry currently serves as the Vice President of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and is part of both the Executive Committee and the Strategic Management Committee; he is also a member of the AASHTO-ARTBA-AGC joint policy committee. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Transportation Research Board (TRB). He serves as the current Chair of the Eastern Transportation Coalition. McMurry is a board member of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) and the Southern Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (SASHTO). At the state level he serves on several boards, including the Atlanta Transit Link Authority (ATL), Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), State Road and Tollway Authority (SRTA), the State Depository Board and the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund. He is a member of the College of Engineering & Information Technology (CEIT) Corporate Advisory Committee at Georgia Southern University as well as the University of Georgia College of Engineering Advisory Board. 

McMurry has received numerous accolades and recognitions, including being named Georgia Trend’s 2018 Georgian of the Year, and is consistently included in its list of the 100 Most Influential Georgians. He was also named one of Atlanta’s most powerful leaders in Atlanta Magazine’s “Atlanta 500” and James Magazine’s 2024 Most Influential Georgians. McMurry graduated cum laude from Georgia Southern University with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering technology and is a registered professional engineer in the state of Georgia.