You may not be familiar with William R. Ashworth, but chances are if you’ve traveled in the Ocean State, his work has helped you get where you’re going.
A 10-year veteran of engineering-and-design firm Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc., Ashworth has led the company’s transportation-planning and traffic-engineering efforts in Rhode Island. A 1993 civil engineering graduate of the University of Massachusetts, he has developed an extensive background in traffic-impact analysis, signal design, signal-system coordination and parking.
He has provided technical recommendations for high-profile public projects in the state, including the relocation of Interstate 195. His work looked at the project’s impact on traffic in Providence throughout various construction phases and after the completion of the Iway project. Ashworth’s team also prepared a traffic model of the proposed “Knowledge District” in the city’s former Jewelry District.
Currently, he is managing the Aquidneck Island Transportation Study, a comprehensive, multimodal transportation review aimed at connecting the three island communities through a system of automobile, pedestrian, bicycle, water-ferry and public transit. Ashworth is also project manager for a review of downtown Providence’s traffic circulation, which is focusing on two-way traffic on Washington, Empire and Weybosset streets in the heart of the city.
Recently, he was named office manager for Vanasse Hangen Brustlin’s Rhode Island operations. In the role, he oversees all aspects of the company’s local operations, including land development and environmental work. Coupled with his transportation vision, Ashworth’s management should help the company continue on its road to prosperity.
“My direction of the efforts of the Rhode Island team help Vanasse Hangen Brustlin continue to build prominence in the region,” Ashworth wrote in his 40 Under Forty application. •
