SCCA photo
By the Southern California Contractors Association
Caltrans’ chief of the Division of Construction, Ramon “Ray” Hopkins, recently was honored by the Southern California Contractors Association.
SCCA, the region’s leading member-driven, nonprofit association for union contractors, included Hopkins as a recipient in the organization’s 2023 President’s Gala awards program.
The program recognizes people and organizations that have made significant contributions to the industry and their communities while inspiring innovation in their respective fields. Winners received their awards at SCCA’s annual President’s Gala on Nov. 4 at the coastal Waterfront Hotel in Huntington Beach.
“Safe, effective highways, roads and bridges are critical to California’s economy and car-centric culture,” said Charlie Nobles, executive director of the SCCA. “This year’s winners all made critical contributions in the heavy civil construction segment responsible for this infrastructure, something we should never take for granted.”
Hopkins was celebrated as “VIP of the Year.” In his role overseeing highway construction throughout California, Ray has earned a reputation for fairness, honesty and steadfast advocacy of communication and transparency within the construction industry.
Ames Construction was recognized as “Contractor of the Year” for its numerous contributions on critical transportation infrastructure projects throughout Southern California, including work to add express lanes on Interstate 15 in Riverside as well as major rail projects on the Perris Valley Line and Union Pacific Inland Empire Intermodal Terminal.
SCCA’s “Industry Partner of the Year” was presented to Rebuild SoCal for its work supporting statewide infrastructure projects and developing transportation education efforts in Southern California.
Hopkins was celebrated as “VIP of the Year.” In his role overseeing highway construction throughout California, Ray has earned a reputation for fairness, honesty and steadfast advocacy of communication and transparency within the construction industry.
Finally, California State Assemblyman Tom Lackey was honored with the “Ed Kalish Legislator of the Year” award for his unwavering support of the heavy civil construction community and advocacy for both businesses and labor alike.
“It’s a massive and expensive task to build and maintain the transportation system that we all rely upon,” said John Gasparo, president of the SCCA board of directors and director of Security Paving, Westlake Village, Calif. “The individuals and companies we’ve recognized all made an outsized positive impact to southern California’s transportation infrastructure. We’re delighted to share our appreciation of their accomplishments with the construction industry and the public.”
Here is how the SCCA described Hopkins in its awards presentation:
“In 1992, Ramon (Ray) Hopkins graduated from the University of Arizona and began his engineering career in the United States Marine Corps as a Combat Engineer Officer. He joined Caltrans in 1998 as a Design Engineer. Soon after, he transferred to Construction and began working as a Resident Engineer and later as a Construction Engineer.
“In December 2020, Ray was selected as the Chief, Division of Construction, for the California Department of Transportation. In this role he is responsible for providing statewide policies, procedures, and guidance for highway construction throughout California. He leads the HQ Construction team in support of roughly $13.5-Billion dollars of ongoing construction projects on the State Highway System.
“In addition to his duties as Division Chief of Construction overseeing highway construction throughout the state of California, Ray is on a mission to make Caltrans the agency of choice for contractors. He has advocated for open lines of communication between the industry and Caltrans providing support for transparency and progress.”