The past four decades have witnessed the emergence of multiple advanced technologies that have reshaped surface transportation infrastructure—from computer-aided design and dynamic message signs to autonomous vehicles and drones.
In that span, Randy Iwasaki has been instrumental in paving the way for these tools to transition from the realm of innovation to the real-world safety and mobility needs of California and beyond. At each stop in his career—from Caltrans engineer to agency director, from leading the Contra Costa Transportation Authority to his current role as transportation consultant to public- and private-sector organizations—Iwasaki has continually sought ways to incorporate new ideas into strategies to solve long-standing challenges of moving people and products safely and efficiently.
“His career reflects the definition of a legacy leader,” wrote Abbigail Brown, president of CPM Logistics, who nominated Iwasaki for ENR West’s Legacy Award for Northern California. The vision he has deployed over his career “not only transforms systems, but inspires the next generation of engineers, public servants and industry pioneers,” she added.
Providing facilities to test autonomous vehicles and creating regulations for their use have been a priority for Iwasaki.
Photo courtesy Randy Iwasaki
Iwasaki, who grew up in the Central Valley farming community of Reedley, credits Gordon Marts, an early supervisor and mentor at Caltrans District 6, for jump-starting his journey toward being a technology maven. He recalls how Marts once assigned him to go to agency headquarters in Sacramento and request CADD machines in order to speed the transition from ink and velum plans to digital design.
When Iwasaki suggested that Marts “was better suited for that task as our deputy district director for project delivery, he pulled out our organizational chart and reminded me that I was the CADD coordinator,” Iwasaki says. “He asked again how many machines I thought we’d need. I gave him a number. He said OK, and I drove up to Sacramento to request those workstations. That’s how we become the first Caltrans district to do all-digital design.”
Despite the unexpected redefinition of his role at the time, the experience was one of many lifelong lessons that would gradually refine Iwasaki’s appreciation of the importance of mentorship and networking.
“It is important to remember that as planners and engineers, we are products of our environment,” he once wrote in an article for an ASCE publication. “When that environment is good—when you have supportive supervisors who look out for you, help you extend yourself, expand what you think you’re capable of doing—then you can be more successful.”
In the case of Marts and other mentors such as former Caltrans director James van Lobel Sels, Iwasaki added, “These executives supported me, chewed me out at times and pushed me to apply for new positions and take on new responsibilities—even when I preferred to stay put in a job where I felt comfortable and secure. But because they had taught me well, they helped me stretch my abilities to meet new opportunities.”
Iwasaki and transportation leaders visit the construction site of the fourth bore of the Caldecott Tunnel in Oakland, Calif.
Photo courtesy Caltrans
Advancing Accessibility
Those opportunities would come quickly as Iwasaki rose into the leadership ranks of Caltrans, culminating with a nearly yearlong stint as agency director in 2009-10. Along the way, he led completion of the seismic retrofit program for California’s seven state-owned toll bridges, oversaw replacement of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge’s East Span and implemented drone-based measurement technology for construction verification.
Iwasaki would go on to serve as executive director of the Contra Costa Transportation Authority, coinciding with the advent of another transportation technology breakthrough—autonomous vehicles.
“It is important to remember that as planners and engineers, we are products of our environment.”
—Randy Iwasaki
With agencies across the country competing to provide manufacturers with suitable locations to test and refine the technology, Iwasaki took advantage of a ready-made street layout at the decommissioned Concord Naval Weapons Station. Rebranded GoMentum Station, the 2,100-acre facility offered all the built and natural features of an urban driving environment to safely and securely evaluate AV technologies in real-world situations. He also imported the first Level-3 autonomous shuttles in North America and secured federal and state approvals to operate them on public streets in California.
“My vision at the time was to find the best ways for first and last mile access to transit for the aging population and the underserved,” he says. “We felt AVs could help in that area.”
Although the advent of what some at the time characterized as an “AV revolution” has progressed more incrementally, Iwasaki remains confident about their eventual deployment. What matters most, he adds, is timing, which is another career-honed lesson he now shares as a consultant on strategic growth, innovation and technology adoption for leading industries, entrepreneurs and public agencies.
“I’ve never met a company that didn’t think its product was the best thing on the market,” he says. “They don’t always consider whether their industry or their target markets are ready for it.”
As an example, he points to how Uber initially met significant resistance to its concept. After fine-tuning its approach, the company expanded both its services and its reach to become a transportation fixture.
And just as young engineers need to be alert to professional growth opportunities, agencies need to keep an open mind about technology. One company he works with has developed a platform that unifies thousands of different types of traffic cameras, allowing transportation agencies to run analytics and respond in real time to unexpected situations.
“So in addition to having a traffic monitoring asset, you have a system by which you can craft a more sophisticated traffic management strategy,” Iwasaki says.
Over the course of his career, Iwasaki has championed some of California’s most ambitious transportation infrastructure efforts.
Photo courtesy Randy Iwasaki
An Industry Influencer
Throughout his career, Iwasaki has played active roles in a host of transportation-related organizations and initiatives that promote information exchange. Last year, he was elected to a two-year term as president of the International Road Foundation Global, an organization dedicated to providing a global marketplace for transportation best practices and industry solutions.
“IRF Global focuses not just on sharing ideas across developed countries,” he says, “but also bringing technologies and approaches to countries where transportation systems may not be fully developed, and where these ideas can make a difference in the lives of millions.”
Iwasaki’s involvement in IRF Global also provides another outlet for his other passions—mentoring and advocating for workforce diversity, safety and future-focused leadership, evidenced by the honors he has received, such as the WTS Ray LaHood Award for advancing women in transportation. Perhaps the future leader Iwasaki is most proud of is his daughter Lauren, who was recently named a corporate partner in the Los Angeles office of a leading global law firm.
Somehow amid his busy schedule, the incredibly energetic Iwasaki still finds time to embark on far-flung travel adventures with his wife, Rebecca.
Iwasaki, a state and local transportation leader for Amazon, tests out the firm’s delivery processes.
“We’ve had the opportunity to set foot on all seven continents, and I’ve been paid to speak on six of them,” he says, adding with a laugh. “I’m not sure about any speaking engagements happening in Antarctica though.”
Asked how today’s trends will evolve into the transportation environment of the next decade, Iwasaki believes that amid a more technologically rich environment—one that includes more prevalence of AVs and advancements in vertiports and drone delivery—the basics of building and maintaining roads and bridges will remain paramount.
“We’ll getting better information about how to make investments in asset management and use predictive analytics to make roads safer,” he says. “I also hope we make big strides in construction safety. We need to focus on trades and make sure our work zones are safe, that materials are set up right and crews can get in and do work right the first time.”
