Snohomish County Engineer Doug McCormick Named County Engineer of the Year

Presentation of the award at the 2024 WSACE Annual Conference

Snohomish County Public Works Deputy Director and County Engineer Doug McCormick, P.E., was named County Engineer of the Year by the Washington State County Road Administration Board (CRAB) at the Washington State Association of County Engineers (WSACE) annual conference in Ritzville, Wash. yesterday.

Outgoing WSACE President Scott Yaeger, County Engineer, Adams County also honored McCormick, awarding him with the 2024 President’s Award. McCormick is being recognized for his nearly four decades of dedicated service and delivery of innovative transportation projects.

“Doug knows every mile of the county road network as well as the history of the projects, the people who live there, how the communities have changed, and what options should be considered to improve public safety and prepare for growth,” Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers said. “He continually challenges himself and his teams to determine the best, most creative way to move a solution forward in ways that are innovative, efficient, and cost effective, helping to make Snohomish County the best place to live and work.”

Washington State is made up of 39 counties including almost 80,000 lane miles of roads, 3,300 bridges and four ferry systems. Every road or bridge improvement project within an unincorporated county boundary must be approved by a county engineer. For Snohomish County, it’s a job that spans more 1,600 miles of roads and 210 bridges.

McCormick has worked for Snohomish County since he joined the public works department as a design engineer in 1990. Since then, he has served as project manager, design supervisor, program planning manager and division director before becoming the Public Works Deputy Director/County Engineer in 2017.

“For more than 30 years, Doug has successfully managed and led many high profile, complex and award-winning projects, built outstanding relations with peers, gained overwhelming support from partners, and developed highly capable teams to carry out projects and programs,” Snohomish County Council Chair Jared Mead said. “Doug’s valuable insights and knowledge help provide well-designed roads and sustainable disposal and recycling options for county residents. We are grateful for his many contributions.”

“Under Doug’s leadership, Public Works has successfully delivered hundreds of millions of dollars of transportation infrastructure improvements and received numerous state and national awards for engineering excellence, innovation, and sustainability,” Public Works Director Kelly Snyder said. “Most recently, he played a crucial role in leading the vision and acquiring funding to help deliver the nationally recognized Little Bear Creek Advanced Mitigation Site project. He is the best at balancing his knowledge with action, determination and compassion.”

Prior to working at the county, McCormick served five years with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) where he spent time contributing to the construction of I-90 across Mercer Island before joining a design office in the Northwest Region. He received his engineering degree from the University of Washington.

McCormick is also an advocate for other local jurisdictions and transit agencies within the state. He serves on the County Road Administration Board (CRAB) Board of Directors; the Washington State Association of County Engineers (WSACE) Board of Directors as President; the Puget Sound Regional Council (PRSC) Regional Project Evaluation Committee as a member and current Chair; and the Snohomish County Tomorrow (SCT) Infrastructure Coordinating Committee (ICC) as Co-Chair.

Since 1967, CRAB has presented a County Engineer of the Year Award annually to recognize outstanding performance in engineering expertise, leadership, community engagement and industry involvement. CRAB was created by the Legislature in 1965 to provide statutory oversight of Washington’s 39 county road departments. The agency receives funding from a portion of the counties’ Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax (MVFT) withheld for state supervision, and from a small portion of the grant programs under CRAB’s administration.

The Washington State Association of County Engineers is a private, not-for-profit association. Located in Olympia, WA, the Washington State Association of County Engineers offers training, education, and advocacy services for its 39 member counties. WSACE strives to be a leading public works professional organization for leadership and stewardship of infrastructure and service needs of our communities.