MPC Welcomes New Transportation Engineer

MPC sends out a warm welcome to Tarren Barrett, our new Transportation Engineer who is working in the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization.

Barrett will be reviewing development plans and traffic impact studies, managing data collection efforts, and helping facilitate special committees.

Barrett joins MPC after more than four years at the Lakeway Metropolitan Planning Organization where she worked on various corridor plans, the Transportation Improvement Program, and the Long Range Transportation Plan for the Morristown area. Following her tenure at Lakeway MPO, Barrett spent six months in the Tennessee Department of Transportation's (TDOT) Office of Community Transportation, tasked with assessing the region's transportation system and facilitating cooperation and communication between TDOT and developers.

Earning a Masters Degree in Civil Engineering, with a concentration in transportation, has allowed Barrett to help people much farther away than Morristown. In 2011-12, she served as a Civil Engineer Officer in Afghanistan with the Tennessee Air National Guard on projects that benefited both soldiers and civilians. While there, Barrett worked on construction inspections of Afghan-built facilities, facility design, master planning for bases throughout the country, and surveying, both on and off base.

Now that she's back home, the Knoxville native is looking forward to her new job and hopes to expand her knowledge of her chosen field while collaborating with other agencies to improve East Tennessee's transportation system. With two boys at home, both less than four years old, Barrett says she now looks at road safety from a whole new perspective.

"I love to travel with my family and especially love adventure, but going about your daily routine shouldn't be an adventure. I really hope to have an impact on the transportation system and improve safety and mobility in my own hometown!"