Brian Buchanan has joined HDR's transit practice as a transit principal project manager and transit section manager. Based in San Antonio, Texas, he will focus on planning, directing and monitoring multi-discipline transit programs, while introducing emerging technologies such as autonomous vehicles and their associated infrastructure.

Prior to joining HDR, Buchanan served as senior VP of development for VIA Metropolitan Transit. As a member of the senior executive team, he was responsible for service and capital planning, capital engineering, and real estate acquisition and management.

Buchanan’s two-plus decades of experience includes managing long-range plans and strategic vision documents as well as leading large capital projects in multi-jurisdictional environments. He was involved in the planning, construction, start-up and testing, and revenue service for Valley Metro’s $1.4 billion Central Phoenix/East Valley light rail system (now known as METRO).

During his tenure there, he transitioned to the public sector and served as director of design and construction for Valley Metro Rail. In this role, Brian worked in tandem with HDR as the project manager of the $1.4 billion Phoenix Light Rail New Starts project.