On April 30 and despite wind gusts of at least 30 mph, TTI and special guests celebrated the construction of TTI’s State Headquarters and Research Building. The crowd gathered on site under a large tent in the newly completed parking lot for the new building. Texas A&M University System (TAMUS) dignitaries and Texas Transportation Department (TxDOT) officials were among the guest speakers. TTI Director Dennis Christiansen moderated the event.
“Today we are pleased to be celebrating another milestone in our 58-year history,” Christiansen said. “Our first state headquarters building will accommodate the growth that TTI has experienced.”
The three-story, 66,000-square-foot building will house a traffic control materials research facility, TTI’s main administrative offices and research and support space. The $18.8 million building will be located next to TTI’s Gibb Gilchrist Building in the Texas A&M University (TAMU) Research Park.
Rex Cottle, Trinity Industries senior vice president, detailed the two-decade relationship between TTI and Trinity Industries, a relationship that has produced numerous roadside safety products implemented around the world. “You, your researchers and staff are really jewels in the crown of the state of Texas,” Cottle said. “We are most appreciative of being a part of this celebration.”
“It is not this building that we celebrate here today, but the work that will be done in this building, the lives that will be saved, the families that will be spared grieving for the loss of a loved one, the product that will be moved and the jobs that will be created and preserved,” Bill Jones, chairman of the TAMUS Board of Regents, told the crowd.
TTI’s State Headquarters and Research Building is scheduled for completion in Fall 2009.