DALLAS, TX — The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) announces the appointment of Carl L. Johnson, P.E., to Director of District Operations, Jessica A. Butler, P.E., to Director of Engineering and Safety Operations, and Mohamed "Mo" Bur, P.E., to Director of Project Development.In his new role, Johnson will direct and coordinate the department’s district operations to ensure the state’s transportation system is built and operates in a safe, efficient, and effective manner.

Prior to TxDOT, Johnson worked for two heavy highway contractors, one in the DFW region and one in Central Texas. A 27-year TxDOT veteran, Johnson started his career with TxDOT in 1995 in the Lampasas Area Office of the Brownwood District. In 2001, he moved to District Operations and was promoted in 2012 to Brownwood District’s Director of Operations overseeing all maintenance, traffic, and emergency operations. Johnson was named the Abilene District Engineer in August of 2017, overseeing the 13-county district. Since September 2020, Johnson has served as the Fort Worth District Engineer overseeing the nine-county district with more than $4 billion in design, construction, maintenance, and traffic.

Johnson will continue to serve as the Ft. Worth District Engineer until a replacement is named.In her new role, Butler will direct and coordinate the department’s engineering operations. Butler began her career with TxDOT in 2005 in the Design Division. In 2011, she worked in the Letting Management Section of the Finance Division. Butler then held several leadership positions within the Transportation Planning and Programming Division overseeing the development of the department’s Unified Transportation Program and portfolio management process. In 2018, Butler was appointed the Deputy Division Director in the Design Division. Since September 2020, Butler has served as TxDOT’s Director of Transportation Planning and Programming Division.

In 2020, Butler was honored with the Dewitt C. Greer Award at the Transportation Short Course. She was also an integral part of the development of the first Safety Scoring Tools for the department, created in partnership with TTI, which won a National Roadway Safety Award. Her team was also the recipient of the Innovative Transportation Solutions Award by Advancing Women in Transportation (WTS) for improvements and public outreach to Project Tracker.

She earned her bachelor's degree in architectural engineering in 2004 from the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree of human services in 2012 with a focus on conflict resolution, management, and leadership from St. Edwards University.

Butler will continue to serve as the Director of the Transportation Planning and Programming Division until a replacement is named.

In his new role, Bur will direct and coordinate the department’s project development divisions (ENV, ROW, PEPS, DES, ALD, & TPD).

He began his engineering career as an intern for three summers with the Maryland State Highway Administration. He joined TxDOT in 1997 in the San Angelo Area Office and transferred to the Dallas District Roadway Design Section in June 2002. In 2011, Bur became the Project Delivery Office Supervisor responsible for the district’s consultant management, contracts, funding and programming, district review, scheduling, hydraulic section, right-of-way mapping, and survey sections. After helping stand the PEPS Division, Bur was named the Dallas District’s Director of Transportation Planning and Development in 2014, and in July 2017, he became the Dallas Deputy District Engineer. Bur was named the District Engineer for TxDOT's Dallas District on June 11, 2018.

Bur is the 2017 recipient of the DeWitt C. Greer Award. He oversees a portfolio of planning and design projects valued at $26 billion. The Dallas District currently has a construction portfolio of $4.7 billion in traditional and design-build construction projects. Bur is a 1996 graduate of the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering with an emphasis on transportation and hydraulics.

Bur will continue to serve as the Dallas District Engineer until a replacement is named.