Mahoning County deputy engineer selected as project manager of the year
The National Association of County Engineers recognized a local resident as the 2026 Project Manager of the Year during its annual conference, held earlier this month in Arlington, Texas.
Bob Durbin graduated from Youngstown State University in June 1992 and began working for the Columbiana County Engineer’s Office as a bridge design engineer. He was promoted to deputy engineer in 1996.
Pam Dingman is the president of NACE and the Lancaster County Engineer.
“Bob’s decades of service is a testament to NACE, and I can think of no one more deserving of this honor,” she said. “Bob’s work involving the Mahoning County Local Public Agency program has exponentially improved the lives of all who travel throughout the County.”
In 2017, Durbin was hired as the deputy engineer for Mahoning County and has served in that capacity since. He oversees the daily operations of the engineering and administration departments, programs for bridge inspection and replacement, and the county’s LPA Federal Aid program.
“The 2025 program alone included the $18 million dollar expansion of Western Reserve Road, the $4.5 million dollar Market Bridge Rehabilitation project, the $1 million dollar Walker Mill Road Bridge Replacement Project and the $6.4 million dollar Mahoning Avenue Industrial Corridor Upgrade project,” Dingman said. “All these projects required steadfast management and effective communication with local and federal officials.”
According to NACE, he’s currently overseeing $50.6 million dollars of projects including seven road projects totaling $44.5 million dollars and eleven bridge projects totaling $6.10 million dollars.
Durbin is a resident of Fairfield Township in Columbiana County.
In the U.S., local roads account for about 75% of highways and roads, or 2.93 million miles.
Counties manage 1.74 million miles of those roads while cities and townships account for another 1.19 million miles. Counties also own 231,000 bridges and operate one-third of the nation’s transit systems.
In its 70th year, NACE is a nonprofit, nonpartisan professional association representing ove r3,000 county engineers, public works directors, highway commissioners, road managers, and related professionals in the U.S. and Canada.
