Harry Haslam is a Transportation Technical Engineer 5 currently serving as Assistant Local Programs Engineer with the Local Programs division. His department provides federal and state funds to local governments. He works with four counties and the local governments within those counties, as well as City of Seattle, Port of Seattle, and several non-profit organizations who receive grant funds. His job is to ensure that use of those funds is in compliance with federal rules, regulations, and requirements that accompany those funds. This includes making sure projects are designed to standard, constructed per federal procedure, and appropriate quality control measures enforced. His team will oversee the projects from start to finish ensuring all federal and state procedures, regulations, and requirements are being met and are in compliance with the Local Agency Guidelines (LAG) Manual.

Harry has been with WSDOT for 34 years and has considered retirement, but is not quite ready yet. He was initially hired in 1976 as a toll taker on the 520 bridge. As a toll taker, he learned that most people are polite and courteous, though the people remembered most were those who were unpredictable, such as young kids slinging their coins at the tollbooth and watching them roll down the highway, or the people driving past the toll booth wearing no clothes. Prior to the tolls being paid off, he was hired on to a survey crew in Issaquah. Whether fate or opportunity, his career with WSDOT had been decided. At the field office in Issaquah he worked on the I-90 freeway through North Bend while he was on the survey crew, as well as loaned out on I-82 freeway between Yakima and Tri-cities during the winter time. It was so cold, they could only work 30 minute increments outside before they had to return to the survey truck for 30 minutes to warm up. Harry says that one of the things he likes about working at WSDOT is the people he has worked with are just regular people doing the best job they can with the resources they’ve been given. In his current position with Local Programs, he noted that “we are here to help local municipalities get the funding they need so their transportation facilities can be built, while helping spur the economy while nurturing partnering relationships between cities, counties, and the State”. As acknowledgement of these successful partnerships, project excellence awards have been given to small communities such as the Town of Concrete, which was in dire financial straits until Main Street was reconstructed and new sidewalks installed, thus providing a much needed boost to their economy. In addition, Baker River Bridge was also replaced, allowing people access to town from the east Probably one of the biggest success stories is City of Seattle’s South Lake Union/Mercer Street Corridor project, also known as the “Mercer Mess”, which is currently under construction having received much sought after and very difficult to obtain federal TIGER funds.

Harry has met and worked with a number of people in city and county government over the past 35 years. What he has discovered is that people are pretty much the same everywhere. They want to do the best job they can. They have families, hobbies, and outside interests, such as the county engineer who sail boards on weekends, the project engineer who raises and shears sheep, or the city engineer who works for an international humanity organization. Harry has been married for 33 years to his wife Pamela, and has three sons and one daughter. His daughter is getting married in Hawaii later this summer. During his free time he makes time for photography, visiting museums, creating travel scrapbooks, watching movies, and having picnics in the parks with his family. And there is always time for browsing through thrift stores, garage sales, and book sales. Harry makes time to take the grand kids on little adventures like visits to the parks, libraries, farms, festivals, fruit markets, and county fairs. He has also visited almost every national park, national monument, and national historical site on in the western U.S.

The picture with Harry and the Great Chicken is from a project, which Harry participated in with the Seattle School District. It is from the ‘Safe Routes to School Program’, whereby children, family members, and school staff meet at designated meeting points and walked to school together as a “walking school bus”. The purpose of the event was to encourage students to walk to school as part of the Safe Routes to School Program, which promotes safe walking routes to school, creates a healthy exercise regimen that leads to more alert and eager students, and reduces cars on the road thereby saving gas and cutting back on pollution and congestion. The other picture is of Harry and three of his eight grandchildren.

Another interesting fact about Harry is that both he and his co-worker Sam are “brown signers”. When he sees a brown sign, which designates sites of recreational or cultural interest, he must stop and see it. He and his wife make Las Vegas is a yearly trip. Although he does not gamble much, they love to visit there. The first thing they do is rent a car and leave Las Vegas to visit state and national parks, and other sites outside Las Vegas. He also has a connection to David Letterman by creating ‘Top 10’ lists for staff when they get promoted or leave the office. His next assignment is a Top 10 list for Sharon Golphenee, who is retiring soon.

Featured Employee Listing