Daniel Garcia, PE, is a regional practice leader of KCI Technologies Inc., with expertise that extends to construction management, design-build, and materials and pavement engineering. He has played an integral part in the management of the overweight corridor systems in the Rio Grande Valley, located on the southern border of Texas. For his expertise in construction management, Garcia was honored by Marquis Who’s Who with inclusion in August 2025.
Using Expertise in Pavement Engineering
Garcia worked on designing and managing roadways designated as overweight corridors, which are designated routes that allow vehicles that exceed the standard weight limits to pass, as they are designed to withstand heavier loads than regular roads.
“At the time, there were no established overweight corridors in Texas. I developed a program to look at the roadways on the overweight corridor, assess the damage being done by overweight trucks, and design the pavement to withstand them,” Garcia explains.
This endeavor also included Garcia studying the financial system to determine how to fund the repairs. He and his team had to look at the project holistically, from subgrade stabilization to base selection, hot mix design, and skid resistance analysis. He also reviewed the data to determine the ideal timing to fund these projects for construction.
Addressing Problems on the Road
Garcia also helped create a system to reduce wet surface crashes on roads on the southern border, drawing on his experience as a materials and pavement engineer. This involved studying areas with wet surface crashes to investigate and review the data. These efforts helped significantly bring down wet surface crashes and fatalities on the southern border.
Another achievement of Garcia’s was his success in helping Mexican Quarries to be included on the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) Material Producers List program. “We devised a system to get Mexican aggregate on TxDOT’s material producers list,” he says. “That was big because it enabled the 365 Tollway and other major projects utilizing continuously reinforced concrete pavement in our area. In our area, you don’t have that type of aggregate. The closest place is in Mexico.”
Achieving Success
Reflecting on his career, Garcia attributes his success to hard work and having a good team to work with on various projects. “I’ve been very blessed and fortunate that I have excellent teams that I’ve worked with. The only way you build a team is by being good to people. You have to be good to your employees. They’re not just numbers on a page or disposable. You have to get to know them, understand their lives, understand what motivates them and ultimately help them,” Garcia says.
Garcia is also a mentor to those who work for him. He helps them achieve their career aspirations and encourages them to set their goals higher, aligning them with their capabilities. Mentors have played a significant role in his life journey. His two grandfathers and father instilled in him the ethics that have driven him to success and ignited his desire to help others.
Overall, Garcia wants to make significant contributions to his industry. “I want to help identify infrastructure needs in various capacities and find avenues to develop funding,” he says. “I started workforce development here in the area, and I want to expand that through the workforce commissions and other partners. Besides expanding the construction management program we have at KCI, that’s really something I want to do to make a bigger impact on the industry.”
