The Interview: Engineer Jennifer White

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - If you're a licensed driver in the Port City, then Jennifer White’s work affects you every day.

She was appointed Mobile's Traffic Engineering Director in April of last year and is responsible for the signal lights, traffic signs and even the paint on Mobile's roads.

She recently shared her experience on the job and how much she enjoys working in Civil Engineering.

"A lot of engineers, they sit at a desk doing design and they're on the computer all day, and I'm not,” White said.

White said every day provides a different situation with new problems to solve.

She said, “I get to get out with the public, when I get a complaint from somebody I still go out and put my eyes on it.”

After eight years working with Mobile's Traffic Engineering Department, Jennifer White is now the port city's Traffic Engineering Director.

The Auburn School of Civil Engineering alumnus recognizes and appreciates the differences traffic engineering offers from other focuses.

"Really, traffic, if you look at it, it’s more of a safety engineering. I mean, you're responsible for the safety of everybody that's driving on that roadway,” she said.

She said the field’s technology-driven nature makes it change as fast as technology does. She says those changes in technology ensure that “it’s not a stagnant study.”

White says the technology that's available today allows traffic engineers to use their cell phones to make changes and adjustments.

But, White says it depends on the budget and what a city can afford because some of today's computer based signal systems can cost $150,000 per intersection.

The technology helps, but Mobile's traffic flow is influenced by its history and location, and as White says, the direction the city has grown.

"The way the city was originally laid out, we have very few major east-west corridors, but that's where we're growing. We had the grid downtown and you'll notice how much easier it is, that if you want to get across that you have so many options for it. But, the city starts spreading into that spoke and wheel,” said White.

White said Government Blvd., Airport Blvd. and Moffett Rd. bear the brunt of east-west traffic but a lack of north-south options creates a problem.

“It's like you inherit what happened so many years ago. This is a design that probably was over a 100 years old, and it's just the way the city grew naturally," says White.

Eighty-thousand vehicles travel Airport Boulevard daily, according to White.

It's the city's most traveled roadway because it reaches most of Mobile's residential growth areas. It's also one of White's biggest challenges. She says the stretch between Sage and McGregor adds even more problems when looking for solutions to the congestion.

When those roads are added to the mix, it increases the directions for traffic to come from four to eight. She said traffic from the service road also helps add to the wait drivers face at signals at those intersections.

"My predecessors, they had the same complaints during their tenure and probably every one of them had a plan for Airport Boulevard," said White, who has a plan of her own.

She said she’d like to see overpasses at some of the busiest intersections to keep through traffic moving from east to west.

"Anybody that wants to move in that east-west direction will have more of a free-flow type situation. We want to tackle of course our most congested areas first from Sage to McGregor and then start moving out further west," she said.

White is now looking for the money to meet Mobile's part of the Airport Boulevard project estimated to cost $100 million. She says the question they often face is “Well, if you had the money today, when would we see this?”

"It would still be four to five years down the road before construction would start. You go through the design phase, and then you have to go through the public hearings, so it's a slow process and it can be frustrating," she said.

Despite frustrations that go with the job, White says she is enjoying it.

She also wants everyone to know she's a local driver and she, despite what some frustrated motorists may think, wants everyone to have a better experience on the roads.

"We drive those same roads every day. We're out in it with them,” she said.

Her coworkers hear about it.

“I can't go down the road without getting on the phone and calling somebody myself about why is this doing this, because I'm constantly looking and I want those things to be better, I do,” she said. “I am that conscientious about what's going on, that I want them to be better.”

In the meantime, to make what we have work better, White encourages everyone to use Mobile's 3-1-1 call system to let her department know if a traffic signal is not working properly

“I like coming to work every day, it's still a little intimidating sometimes, but it’s fun and I do enjoy it," said White.