Nearly Three Decades of Keeping TxDOT Projects on Track
Keeping a major transportation project on schedule and within budget requires more than monitoring costs; it requires knowing where risks will surface and acting before they disrupt construction. For nearly three decades, Ciro Baeza, PE, has helped keep transportation projects on schedule, within budget, and moving through unexpected challenges. That experience is now taking him to TxDOT’s annual Short Course, where he will serve on a panel discussing the PEPS Budget Dashboard, which provides a consolidated, statewide view of professional engineering service allocations, usage, and future projections. Drawing on 29 years in the transportation and construction industry, including 22 years with TxDOT, Ciro brings a practical perspective to a session focused on allocation planning, standardized district inputs, dashboard metrics, forecasting accuracy, transparency, and allocation stewardship.
A Foundation Built Inside TxDOT
Ciro’s path started at TxDOT’s Odessa District, where he moved through progressively larger roles: Engineer-in-Training, Interim Design Engineer, Pavement Design Engineer, Area Engineer, and Director of Construction. During that time, he developed plans for rural farm-to-market roads across West Texas, produced cost-efficient pavement designs, and directed construction practices across an entire district. He even conducted forensic pavement analysis with the Texas Transportation Institute to identify why certain designs failed and how future projects could avoid the same fate.
That foundation gave Ciro a working knowledge of how TxDOT plans, allocates resources for and evaluates a project long before construction begins. It also taught him that effective budget management depends on more than tracking expenditures: it requires anticipating how design decisions, construction sequencing, field conditions, and timely coordination can affect cost. He carried that owner-side perspective into project and construction management on the consultant side, most recently with DCCM.
A Career of Practical Problem-Solving
Ciro’s project history demonstrates how practical field decisions can protect both schedules and budgets. On the IH 20 Widening project in Midland, he modified the traffic control plan so contractors could work in two areas simultaneously instead of one, helping finish the project 57 days ahead of schedule. On the SH 302 in the Odessa District, he recommended that TxDOT approve a revised construction sequence that enabled the contractor to reach substantial completion seven months early and generated more than $800,000 in road user savings. Together, these examples illustrate his ability to identify workable changes that deliver measurable value.
Hands-On, Transparent, and Safety-First
Those who have worked alongside Ciro describe him as hands-on and responsive. He visits active projects weekly, meets with contractors promptly when issues surface, and keeps TxDOT informed so decisions do not stall. That same instinct for clear communication carries into his work as a constructability reviewer, where he studies roadway, bridge, drainage, and utility design packages from the contractor’s point of view, catching phasing conflicts, staging risks, and material concerns before they reach a bid package.
Safety runs through all of it. As part of a district traffic safety team, Ciro once reviewed roadway fatalities to identify patterns and mitigation strategies, and those lessons still shape how he approaches every project today, from the first pre-construction meeting to final closeout.
Experience That Sets Him Apart
Ciro’s value comes from more than the qualifications behind his name. It comes from nearly three decades of making practical decisions where design meets construction and where choices in the field can directly affect schedule, safety, cost, and project outcomes. Whether addressing an issue on a driveway in Culberson County, a ramp in Midland, or a bridge deck in Abilene, he brings the perspective of someone who understands both the immediate decision and its broader impact on the project. That experience strengthens DCCM’s ability to help clients anticipate risks, resolve challenges early, and keep transportation projects moving.
That perspective is what Ciro brings to TxDOT’s panel on the PEPS Budget Dashboard. DCCM is proud to see his experience recognized and, more importantly, shared with others responsible for planning and delivering transportation projects. The session will explain the allocation planning process, the key metrics available, and how the dashboards support leadership and district-level decision-making statewide. His lessons are grounded not simply in managing costs, but in knowing where to look, what to anticipate, and when a practical decision can make a measurable difference, which is the same proactive, field-informed approach he brings to DCCM’s clients and project teams every day.
Join Ciro at the TxDOT Transportation Short Course
The 100th Annual TxDOT Transportation Short Course takes place October 12–14, 2026, at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.
Ciro will participate in the PEPS Budget Dashboard session on October 14, from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m., in MSC 2300 A&B, Bethancourt Ballroom, with Diana Romero, CTCM, CTCD, TxDOT, and Travis Campbell, PE, TxDOT. Join the presenters to learn how standardized district inputs feed decision-ready views and how the dashboards improve transparency, forecasting accuracy, and allocation stewardship.
Planning to attend? Explore the Short Course event details and registration information and join Ciro for the discussion.
Supporting Infrastructure Delivery Nationwide
DCCM provides design, consulting, and program and construction management for public and private clients across the United States. Our construction management and inspection teams help clients manage costs and schedules, coordinate contractors and utilities, review constructability, and maintain quality oversight through project closeout.
Learn more about DCCM’s construction management and inspection capabilities, or connect with our team to discuss support for your next transportation or infrastructure improvement.
