Granite Names Richard A. Watts New General Counsel

Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE: GVA) today announced that Richard A. Watts has been appointed vice president, general counsel, corporate compliance officer and secretary, effective immediately. He is replacing Terry K. Eller who is leaving the company for personal reasons.

"In addition to his vast understanding of Granite, Richard brings a valuable combination of sharp business intellect, strong leadership skills and uncompromising ethical standards to the role. His exceptional knowledge of the law and impeccable personal integrity make him an ideal general counsel for our company,” said James H. Roberts, Granite’s president and chief executive officer.

Watts most recently served as Granite’s assistant general counsel and assistant secretary. He joined the company in 2003 as division counsel and was named assistant general counsel in 2010.

Before joining Granite, Watts was corporate counsel for Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. He also worked as an attorney for the firm Cokinos, Bosien and Young. Earlier in his career, Watts was a professional engineer for Turner, Collie and Braden and served in the United States Army Reserves.

Watts earned a B.S. in civil engineering from Texas A&M University with honors. He went on to earn a J.D. degree, with honors, from South Texas College of Law.

About Granite

Granite is one of the nation’s leading infrastructure contractors and is member of the S&P 400 Midcap Index, the FTSE KLD 400 Social Index and the Russell 2000 Index. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Granite is one of the nation’s largest diversified heavy civil contractors and construction materials producers serving public- and private-sector clients nationwide. In addition, Granite has one of the oldest and most robust ethics and compliance programs in the industry. In 2011, the Company was recognized by the Ethisphere Institute as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for the second year in a row. For more information, please visit graniteconstruction.com.