City Engineer Ryan Zwijack Chosen to Lead Edwardsville Public Works Department

City Engineer Ryan Zwijack will serve as the new public works department director for the City of Edwardsville, effective Monday, March 24. He was appointed by Mayor Art Risavy and unanimously approved by city council during the Tuesday, March 4, 2025 meeting.

Zwijack will replace Public Works Director Eric Williams, who will step into the role of city administrator March 24.

"Ryan Zwijack has the experience and knowledge to ensure a seamless transition at our public works department and to continue delivering the quality our residents deserve," Mayor Art Risavy said. "He is committed to providing exemplary public service and I know he will be a tremendous asset for the community in this role."

Zwijack has been with the city's public works department since April 2009, including nearly 11 years as Edwardsville's city engineer. He first joined the city as its project engineer, advancing two years later to assistant city engineer before assuming the city engineer role in April 2014. He has extensive experience in both the public and private sectors in water and wastewater operations, infrastructure planning, budget preparation and capital programming.

A New Lenox, IL native, Zwijack holds multiple degrees from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, including civil engineering and business administration. He has been instrumental in numberous Edwardsville initiatives, including the planning and construction of the R.P. Lumber Center and efforts to secure more than $31 million in grant funding for various ongoing and upcoming projects.

"I hope to continue the success that public works has had and look forward to working with the mayor and city coucil on completing several key infrastructure projects for the city," Zwijack said.

The public works department has oversight for the city's engineering, planning and zoning, and field operations divisions along with the water and wastewater plant. The director is also responsible for the department's annual budget, capital improvements, infrastructure maintenance and land development review.