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Burke Joins WSP USA as National Toll Practice Consultant

Burke Joins WSP USA as National Toll Practice Consultant

Industry veteran brings extensive experience in congestion pricing and toll-financed projects.

ORANGE, California— Christopher Burke, an industry leader with nearly two decades of experience in tolling, has joined WSP USA, a leading engineering and professional services consultancy, as a national toll practice consultant.

Burke will collaborate with Jeff Heilstedt, national director of tolling services at WSP, to enhance and reinforce the firm’s growing range of toll industry services to new and existing clients.

“Chris is a veteran of the North American toll industry’s adoption of express lanes congestion pricing (variable and dynamic pricing), and toll-financed projects” Heilstedt said. “He works closely with clients to define their goals, achieve their objectives, and find innovative solutions to their challenges. With his experience and expertise, he will be at home collaborating with toll authorities, state departments of transportation, regional toll and mobility authorities, and the concessionaire toll industry.”

Burke began his tolling career with the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), launching the Interstate 15 Express Lanes toll collection system, back office system and customer service operations. He was also responsible for intelligent transportation systems/toll planning for the State Route 11/Otay Mesa East Port of Entry project at the U.S./Mexico border, and provided initial support in assessing the South Bay Expressway (State Route 125) and transitioning staff after SANDAG’s purchase of the 10-mile roadway.

Recently, as senior toll manager for an international engineering firm, Burke supported the toll planning and development of the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) 405 and San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA) Express Lanes projects. He helped SBCTA negotiate an agreement for a shared approach regarding toll processing and customer service operations with the Transportation Corridor Agencies, resulting in a significant savings in capital and annual operating costs when compared to SBCTA establishing its own “stand-alone” tolling operation. This innovative approach received a Public Agency Partnership award from the Orange County Business Council’s in 2018.

In late 2019, he helped implement and launch a new toll collection system for the OCTA 91 Express Lanes, the roadway that pioneered the concept of variable pricing when it opened to traffic in 1995. Other notable projects include project management for the OCTA 91 Express Lanes Toll Infrastructure plans, specifications and estimate; and audit of Indiana Toll Road operations for the Indiana Finance Authority, providing toll, operations and maintenance support on numerous public-private partnership projects prior to and after the facility was sold.

Burke holds a master’s degree in public administration from San Diego State University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of San Francisco.

About WSP USA

WSP USA is the U.S. operating company of WSP, one of the world’s leading engineering and professional services firms. Dedicated to serving local communities, we are engineers, planners, technical experts, strategic advisors and construction management professionals. WSP USA designs lasting solutions in the buildings, transportation, energy, water and environment markets. With more than 10,000 employees in 170 offices across the U.S., we partner with our clients to help communities prosper. wsp.com