When told he was being honored by one of the engineering world's most prestigious magazines, Cincinnati Transportation Director John Deatrick showed the same modesty and willingness to share the credit that won him the honor in the first place.

        Mr. Deatrick, who oversaw the $314 million reconstruction of Fort Washington Way, has been named one of the top 25 news-makers of 2000 by Engineering News-Record.

        “It's nothing anybody couldn't do with 2,000 to 3,000 good friends,” Mr. Deatrick said Friday. “I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”

        The award puts Mr. Deatrick in line to possibly receive the magazine's highest honor — the Award of Excellence. The winner, chosen from the top 25 named in ENR's Jan. 1 issue, will be announced at an April 19 ceremony in New York.

        The magazine highlighted Mr. Deatrick's ability to bring the project in relatively on-time, on-budget and with minimal man-hours lost to accidents.

        It also noted Mr. Deatrick was able to persuade several different governing bodies, from Hamilton County commissioners to Cincinnati City Council to the state of Kentucky to the Ohio Department of Transportation, that the project was worth the investment.

        “The biggest thing John brought to this job was his ability to generate consensus around difficult decisions and an ability to get diverse interests working in collaborative ways,” said Fred Craig, project manager for Parsons Brinckerhoff of Ohio, which managed the renovation for the city.

        Mr. Deatrick said he relied as much on his engineering background — he was the city's principal engineer before taking this position in November 1999 — as his diplomatic skills in getting the job done.

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