Aaron Frits, P.E., ENV SP, F.ASCE, GBA’s Principal in Transportation in Lenexa, Kansas, has been named a fellow by the ASCE Board of Direction.
Frits oversees Project Delivery and Talent Management for the Transportation Market of GBA across offices in Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Texas. He also serves as a project and client manager for various entities, including the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) and cities within the Kansas City Metro.
He most recently served as roadway manager for the US-69 Design Build project in Overland Park, Kansas. In addition to his role with GBA, Frits serves as an adjunct instructor at the University of Kansas, teaching Advanced Highway Design since 2019. Frits has 22 years of experience in roadway design, serving as both project manager and subject matter expert in geometric design. His projects have ranged in construction costs from $5,000 to over $500 million.
Prior to joining GBA in 2019, Frits spent 17 years with KDOT in the Bureau of Roadway Design, with his last role as a road design leader managing over 40 highway projects with a total construction budget of over $1 billion dollars.
During his tenure at KDOT, he was very active in local and national research, serving on several NCHRP panels, both as panel member and chair. He considers the highlight of his DOT career his membership on the AASHTO Technical Committee of Geometric Design, where he was co-author of Chapter 9: “Intersections” of A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, 2018 Edition, better known as the Greenbook.
Frits has served in a variety of roles with ASCE, including as past president for both the Kansas Section and Kansas Section Younger Member Group, a former Region 7 Governor, and Chair of the Leader Training Committee. He was awarded the 2022 Engineer of the Year from the ASCE Kansas Section. He continues to serve as a Student Practitioner Advisor for the University of Kansas Student Chapter, and as a corresponding member for both the Leader Training Committee and Region 7 Board of Governors. He is up for election as Director of Region 7 in the upcoming ASCE election. Frits is also a member of WTS, and KSPE/NSPE.
He received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at Iowa State University and his master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Kansas.
