Who we Are

Our Story

Founded in 1985 by William “Bill” Gray, Gray-Bowen-Scott is a professional consulting firm specializing in the delivery of transportation projects in the Greater Bay Area.

The Beginning

Bill’s career started with the Contra Costa County Public Works Department, as a junior engineer. He quickly moved his way up to Deputy Public Works Director, where he enjoyed working closely with the Board of Supervisors and other federal, state, and local officials on complex regional transportation and land development issues. His funding and political strategies made the delivery of the Pleasant Hill BART station and the reconstruction of I-680/24 Interchange possible, and Bill helped shape the way the county adapted to the post-Proposition 13 environment. Starting his own firm to help people traverse the complex political, policy, funding, and design challenges that projects encounter was a natural evolution of his career. Public and private sector clients sought his strategic and creative methods for delivering projects in a technically feasible and politically acceptable manner.

In 1986, remembering her collaborative problem-solving skills from working with her at the County, Bill invited Terry Bowen to join him. Utilizing their unique skills and relationships, they tackled and successfully delivered some of the Greater Bay Area’s most high-profile and diverse projects: the passing of the first-ever, and highly controversial, ½ cent sales tax measure, the replacement of the obsolete Maxwell Bridge on State Route 121 in Napa, the Sunol Grade HOV lanes, and a landmark bicycle-pedestrian overcrossing at I-80 and University Avenue in Berkeley, to name a few. As they grew the company, Bill and Terry, with young families of their own, were committed to providing a balanced life environment, and to afford their staff with opportunities to grow and succeed.

Drawn by Bill and Terry’s accomplishments, enthusiasm, and work style, Leo Scott joined Bill and Terry in 2004 after a 16-year career with Caltrans. Leo brought new capabilities to the company and was instrumental in developing an innovative partnership arrangement between Caltrans, Alameda and Contra Counties that made construction of the 4th Bore of the Caldecott Tunnel possible. He also pioneered the development and delivery of the Bay Area’s first-ever Express Lanes projects. In 2014, the company became Gray-Bowen-Scott.

Today

Today, Leo Scott is leading the team as President. Bill Gray has retired from day-to-day activities while remaining on the Board of Directors. Terry Bowen is still actively involved while working on her bucket list. The culture and values instilled from the beginning are strongly embedded in GBS today.

With a larger team of seasoned and accomplished professionals, Gray-Bowen-Scott is engaging in bigger and more challenging projects than ever before, all of which benefit the communities in which we live and work. Presently we are working to deliver the Bay Area’s two largest Express Lanes projects – US-101 and Innovate 680, as well as noteworthy land development projects like the expansion of Adobe’s campus and the world-class San Francisco Conservatory of Music which keep us close to our roots. We’ve enhanced our capabilities by adding Agency Administration to our range of services, providing extension of staff managing last-mile shuttle services for Emery Go-Round and MV-Go, as well as the Transportation Partnership and Cooperation (TRANSPAC.)

We are honored by our clients who’ve entrusted us to deliver some of the most dynamic and innovative projects in the San Francisco Bay Area. We take great pride in the fact that our business is based largely on repeat customers and client referrals. As we look to the future, we acknowledge our entire staff for laying the foundation on which to build upon our success, and for preparing us to contribute to the exciting future of transportation infrastructure in the Bay Area.