The State Transportation Board approved a $100,000 raise for Georgia’s top transportation official Thursday.
The 29% raise will bring Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry’s salary to $450,000. The unanimous vote came without comment from board members.
The raise also will boost McMurry’s pension. If he retires after 34 years with the state, his pension will likely top $300,000 a year.
In a statement last month, Chairman Rudy Bowen cited progress on road and bridge construction across the state. He also said it was important for McMurry to continue to lead GDOT with a new federal infrastructure package under consideration.
At Thursday’s board meeting, state Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta, called McMurry “the best commissioner, I think, in the country.”
McMurry joined GDOT in 1990 and has led the agency since 2015. His last raise came in 2017, when the board increased his pay from $250,000 to $350,000.
He gained national acclaim in 2017 for his handling of the I-85 bridge fire and its reconstruction. Working around the clock with a contractor and using accelerated construction methods, GDOT was able to reopen the highway six weeks after it collapsed.
However, a federal investigation later found GDOT was partly to blame for the fire because it had stored high-density plastic conduit under the bridge for years — conduit set ablaze by a homeless man. GDOT changed its storage policies after the blaze.
Even at his new salary, McMurry would not crack the top 10 highest-paid public employees in Georgia. Last year the highest-paid employee was Georgia State University President Mark Becker, who earned $2.8 million, including a deferred compensation plan payment. Becker was one of three public university employees to earn more than $1 million in fiscal 2020, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found.
Among non-university employees, the top salary recipients include several employees of the Georgia Ports Authority, including Executive Director Griffith Lynch ($828,887).
About the Author
