Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Our 103rd Yea r
PHILADELPHIA SECTIONAMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS
325 Chestnut Street, Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106Web site: http://www.asce-philly.org
National ASCE Central Number 1-800-548-ASCE • Toll Free
The Sidney Robin Memorial Newsletter of the Philadelphia Section ASCE
Vol. 88-3 November 2015
DECEMBER MULTI-SOCIETY JOINT MEETING Engineers’ Club of Philadelphia
American Society of Civil Engineers, Philadelphia Section Other Technical Societies (to be announced)
MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2015DoubleTree Hotel, Broad and Locust Streets, Center City Philadelphia
Cocktails 5:30 pm, Dinner 6:30 pm, Meeting Following DinnerMore information and details on the evening’s speaker/topic, price and reservations
will be provided in the December edition of THE NEWS.
Continued on Page 4
NOVEMBER DINNER MEETINGAmerican Society of Civil Engineers, Philadelphia Section
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2015Maggiano’s Little Italy, 1201 Filbert Street (corner of 12th Street), Center City
Cocktails 5:30 pm, Dinner 6:30 pm, Meeting Presentation Follows (approximately 7:30 pm)
SUBJECT: Rehabilitation of the PATCO Commuter Tracks Across the Ben Franklin Bridge SPEAKERS: Michael Venuto, PE, PLS, Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA); John Parola, HNTB; Alex Lawrason, PE, HNTB RESERVATION DEADLINE – FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30. The cost per attendee is $40, with a half-price ($20) cost for government agency employees and students, for reservations received by this deadline. RESERVATIONS RECEIVED AFTER OCTOBER 30 – Reservations received after the deadline and “walk-ups” without prior reservations paying at the door will be charged $50 (government agency employees and students will be charged the regular $20 rate), but will be subject to acceptance on a space-available basis. Please note that payment via PayPal will NOT be available at the close at the reservation deadline.THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT SPACE WILL BE AVAILABLE IF YOU DO NOT RESERVE A SPACE. Walk-ins and anyone without a reservation will be handled on a space-available basis.Reservations can be made via e-mail at [email protected] or electronically through our website (www.asce-philly.org) and pay via PayPal. As noted above, the PayPal option will NOT be available as a payment option after the reservation deadline. Payment for reservations by check (made payable to “Philadelphia Section ASCE”) will be accepted at the reservation table at the door as an option to electronic payment. As always, guests will be welcome to attend the presentation without dinner at no charge. This will be subject to room capacity constraints.ACCESS AND PARKING: Maggiano’s is a short walk from SEPTA’s Jefferson (nee Market East) Regional Rail station and a half-block from bus routes and the Market-Frankford Line on Market Street. There is a parking garage directly above the restaurant for which validation can be offered for a reduced price of $8 for up to 6 hours.This presentation will provide an overview of the design and construction management of the rehabilitation of 2.9 miles of busy track which carries the PATCO “High Speed Line” on the Ben Franklin Bridge across the Delaware River between Center City and South Jersey. The track and supporting structure were rehabilitated in just 110 days while as-close-to-normal operation on PATCO was maintained for its thousands of daily customers, despite several “hiccups” throughout the process. The speakers will also highlight the reconstruction of PATCO’s little-known Camden Yard beneath the bridge, replacement of the railroad systems, effects on vehicular traffic as lanes were closed for portions of the work, and coordination with stakeholders.
A common mistake that people make when trying to design something
completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity
of complete fools.– Douglas Adams
SECTION MEETING SCHEDULE 2015-16
Our meeting program committee is busy lining up speakers and topics for what we hope will be an interesting and informative series of meetings. The information below has been provided for your planning purposes to add to your calendar to hold these dates. This will be “fine-tuned” to provide updates as they are available. We also suggest you visit the Section website for the latest changes in our meeting program.
Each month’s edition of THE NEWS will feature detailed information on that month’s meeting along with as much information as is available for the following month’s meeting. The “look-ahead” schedule will show details that are available for future meetings for your advance awareness.
As always, you are welcome to attend the meeting presentation without dinner at no cost if you prefer to do so. This may be subject to space available at the particular venue.
Information on future meetings this season as of this printing are:2016January 20 (Wednesday) Tappan Zee Bridge Update Joint meeting with American Society of Highway Engineers, Delaware Valley Section Radisson Hotel/Valley Forge Casino, Valley Forge Cocktails 6 pm, dinner 7 pm, meeting 8 pm
February 2016 Location and topic to be determinedMarch 10, 2016 Topic to be determined Maggiano’s Little Italy, Center CityApril 14, 2016 Multi-topic meeting/breakout sessions, topics and date to be determined Villanova Conference Center, RadnorMay 2016 Spring Social Location and date to be determined
Page 2 November 2015T H E N E W S
President — AnnMarie Vigilante, P.E. Senior Associate/Vice President Langan Engineering & Environmental Sciences PO Box 1569 Doylestown, PA 18901-0219 (215) 491-6551 [email protected]
Secretary — Angelo J. Waters, P.E. Vice President Urban Engineers Inc. 530 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19106 (215) 922-8080 [email protected]
PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEEEditor of THE NEWS
Robert WrightSection Outreach Coordinator
Nha TruongStaff Writers
James Markham Joe Syrnick SEND COPY TO:
ASCE, c/o Engineers’ Club of Philadelphia 325 Chestnut Street, Suite 800
Philadelphia, PA 19106
ASCE, PHILADELPHIA SECTION OFFICERS AND BOARD OF
DIRECTION — 2015-16 SEASON
PRESIDENT AnnMarie L. Vigilante, Langan Engineering
& Environmental SciencesPRESIDENT ELECT
Guy DiMartino, Traffic Planning & Design, Inc.
VICE PRESIDENT Cathy G. Farrell, HNTB, Inc.
SECRETARY Angelo Waters, Urban Engineers, Inc.
TREASURER Marc B. Preim, STV
ASSISTANT TREASURER Jennifer Reigle, Pennoni Associates, Inc.
MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY Nha Truong, City of Philadelphia Water Dept.
DIRECTORS Andrew Bechtel, College of New Jersey (’15-’17)Briana Earle, Langan Engineering & Environmental
Services (’15-’17)Spencer Finch, Langan Engineering &
Environmental Sciences (’14-’16) Don Gusic, Pennoni Associates Inc. (’14-’16)
Kazi Hassan, Pennoni Associates, Inc. (’15-’17) Troy Illig, PB (’14-’16)
PAST PRESIDENTS*Joseph Platt, Traffic Planning & Design, Inc.
Jennifer K. Walsh, McMahon Associates Inc.* Jeremy D. Colello, Pennoni Associates, Inc.*
* In accordance with our Constitution and Bylaws, only the immediate Past President will serve on the Board, and only for a one-year term. We show the most recent three Past Presidents as has become our tradition.
COPY DEADLINE FORDECEMBER 2015 ISSUE
NOVEMBER 13, 2015
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGEAs we settle into the autumn months and enjoy all the beauty that fall has to
offer, we are also settling into our year as a Section. We started the season off with a well-attended October dinner meeting that gave us an insider’s look at the recent World Meeting of Families and Papal Visit as well as the intricacies of transportation planning for such a major event. We are following it with our November meeting that will spotlight the rehabilitation of one of the area’s most notable public transportation systems, PATCO.
As the season progresses we will be getting together with other organizations to hold joint events. This will allow us to bring new and exciting topics to our members as well as allowing networking opportunities with members from different societies. We have several joint events coming up in December, January and February. Keep an eye on THE NEWS and our website to find out more information on these events.
In the past few months, we had some notable achievements that I would like to recognize. Section member Ehsan Minaie was awarded the 2015 ASCE Edmund Friedman Young Engineer Award for Professional Achievement which recognizes the professional contributions of younger members of the Society. The ASCE Philly YMF was awarded the 2015 Younger Member Group Award for Large Groups. Section member Drew Sirianni represented the YMF at the recent ASCE Annual Convention in New York City.
I would also like to acknowledge Section member and Past President Ann Tomalavage who had the pleasure of speaking at a press conference in mid-October alongside Congressman Brendan Boyle, former Governor Ed Rendell and others who called for Congress to vote on putting money into the Highway Trust Fund before the fund expires. Ann led the effort in developing the ASCE 2014 Report Card for Pennsylvania’s Infrastructure.
And finally I am very pleased to announce that our very own Section member Carol Martsolf was elected as an ASCE Region 2 Governor. As Governor, she will plan, organize, direct, manage, and carry out events to engage and serve members in our Region. If you see Carol, be sure to congratulate her!
With that I leave you with a personal acknowledgement. In mid-August Ethan and I were blessed with the birth of our first child, John William Magee. John weighted in at 6 lbs 13ozs and was 21 ½ inches long. In his short time on this earth, John has brought so much happiness into our lives. It amazes me how much he has grown both physically and mentally over the past two months. He is up to almost 12 lbs and already learned to smile, laugh, babble (nonstop at
times), hold his head up on his own (although he still throws a few head butts here and there) and has gained more control over his arms and legs. Stay tuned for updates on his progress in the coming months. Sincerely, AnnMarie Vigilante, P.E. President, ASCE Philadelphia Section
DON’T FORGET ABOUT YOUR DUES!Your dues statement/invoice for 2015 should
have landed in your mailbox (and e-mail inbox) from National in the past couple of weeks. As noted on the invoice, you can pay by check or electronically. Either way, please don’t forget to pay your ASCE and Philadelphia Section dues (both are due on January 1 but there are currently some incentives being offered for early renewal). Your dues are vital to the support of our Section’s activities. We appreciate your ongoing support.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENTS UPDATE
Now that the Pennsylvania PE renewal deadline has come and gone, and (hopefully…!) you have been able to have the 24 professional development hours (PDH’s) in hand to qualify for renewal, don’t forget that you do have the ability to carry over 12 PDH’s from the previous licensure period to achieve the required total. This holds in a number of other states as well. Additionally, some states (New Jersey and Delaware locally) stipulate that a minimum number of your PDH’s (2 in New Jersey, 3 in Delaware) must be on the topic of ethics, so please keep that in mind as those two states in particular will have PE licenses expiring in 2016. As always, we recom-mend that you consult the websites of the appropriate State Boards to determine specifics on what is needed for continuing professional development (CPD).
Our Section’s main meeting and Technical Group meeting program provides opportunities for you to pick up PDH’s which will meet the requirements of many states, and we have a
verification process to help you in your record keeping. Typically, in a given season, there will be at least a half-dozen opportunities for a member to earn PDH’s from our program, so we encourage you to take advantage of our offerings for this purpose.
We emphasize that it remains an individual’s responsibility to document PDH’s and have such documentation ready in case of audit. We do provide certificates of meeting attendance/com-pletion that you can keep in your record files, and we retain all meeting sign-in sheets in our files for backup and verification of your participation.
November 2015 Page 3T H E N E W S
YOUNGER MEMBER FORUM NEWSMeredith Lis, Forum EditorChris Renfro, Forum President 2015-16Philadelphia Department of Streets1401 Kennedy Blvd., Room 830Philadelphia, PA [email protected](610) 246-4444
ADOPT-A-HIGHWAYOCTOBER 10 • AMBLER
On October 10, ASCE YMF board members Jon Miller, Chris Renfro and Kevin Brown along with several other volunteers participated in the last joint ASHE/ASCE Adopt-A-Highway street clean-up event of the year. The volunteers walked and cleaned up a 2-mile section of Bethlehem Pike in Ambler/Fort Washington. After the clean-up the group enjoyed refreshments at the Fireside Bar and Grille where the group of volunteers were thanked by some of the patrons for cleaning up their neighborhood. The next clean-up event will be scheduled for Spring 2016.
MID-ATLANTIC REGION STUDENT CONFERENCEDREXEL UNIVERSITY • APRIL 22-24, 2016
The 2016 Mid-Atlantic Region Student Conference will be hosted by Drexel University next April. The Drexel ASCE Student Chapter is currently seeking companies who are interested in sponsoring the steel bridge and concrete canoe competitions at various levels of support. Please contact Colleen Hyde, [email protected], to donate or for more information. The YMF will be providing judges and volunteers to staff the events and sponsoring a Friday night networking happy hour.
YMF LOGO CONTESTThe YMF is seeking a new look! Help us
re-brand in anticipation of our new online presence and the upcoming 20th Annual Winter Social by designing a new YMF logo! The deadline for submissions is November 30, with member voting to follow. A grand prize will be awarded to the winner. Please see the contest rules for additional information at http://www.ymfphilly.org/logo-contest.htm. Don’t forget to check out the final logo at this year’s Winter Social on January 25!
Continued on Page 8
THANKS TO OUR SPONSORSWe have started the season a bit strong in the
sponsorship department, as there are 15 firms participating at this early point. We extend our special and collective THANKS to each sponsor for their financial commitment and support.
Sponsor’s cards are included in THE NEWS and their logos are displayed in a special Sponsors section of our website. Additionally, we provide direct links to sponsors’ own websites so prospective employees can review all available and up-to-date positions. We also offer sponsors the opportunity to have a “spotlight” article in an edition of THE NEWS as well as service as a sponsor of one of our monthly dinner meetings.
If you have an interest in joining our sponsorship program, please contact Bob Wright at [email protected] for more details.
SPECIAL OFFER ON ASCE WEBINARSDid you know that, as a Section member, you
get a discount on ASCE National Webinars? Plus some of the registration fee comes back to help fund other Section activities! Live Webinars: http://mylearning.asce.org/diweb/catalog/t/2125/c/79 ASCE’s live webinars provide cost-effective training for large and small groups. Use Promo Code WEBPHISEC to secure your preferred rate. On-Demand Webinars: http://mylearning.asce.org/diweb/catalog/t/2135/c/79
ASCE’s on-demand webinars provide real-world knowledge and convenient delivery to fit your demanding schedule. Use Promo Code WEBPHISEC to secure your preferred rate.
ASCE PENNSYLVANIA SECTIONS TO TEAM UP FOR NITTANY LIONS FOOTBALL
The four ASCE Sections in Pennsylvania (Central PA, Lehigh Valley, Pittsburgh and us) will be joining forces to co-sponsor a group outing when Penn State hosts Illinois on October 31. A pre-game tailgate will also be conducted. The tailgate is a great way for students to meet ASCE members and industry professionals in an informal way. If you are interested in attending the game, please purchase tickets through the Ticketmaster portal link:
https://oss.ticketmaster.com/html/go.htmI?l=EN&t=pennstate&o=2754697&g=408
The special offer code is “ASCE”. You will need to register for a Ticketmaster account if you do not already have one. Ticket prices range from $50 to $115 based on seating preference. Details of the tailgate will be sent to attendees.
HOLD THESE DATESENGINEERS WEEK EVENTS SCHEDULED
The Engineers’ Club of Philadelphia, through its Delaware Valley Engineers Week Committee, will be celebrating Engineers Week 2016 from February 19 through February 27 and will continue its schedule of three events which will highlight the various contributions of Engineers and Engineering students in the Delaware Valley. Please note this information in your calendar and plan to participate.
AWARDS LUNCHEONFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19DoubleTree Hotel, Center City
This event is both the kickoff event of Engineers Week and the main event of the Delaware Valley celebrations. A poster session, with presentation of student paper winners, will be conducted before the Luncheon. All Delaware Valley Awards and Scholarships will be presented.
YOUNG ENGINEER SOCIAL EVENTTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23Buffalo Billiards, Center City
This is a happy hour/networking event geared to Younger Engineers.
CELEBRATION OF ENGINEERING RECEPTIONTHURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25Drexel University, Philadelphia/University City
The culminating event of Engineers Week is a social/networking gala event to celebrate engineering, with cocktails, appetizer stations, and dessert stations. Future City Competition Regional winners will display their first place model.
More information will be provided on price, location, and other details in the coming months. Please visit www.dvewc.org for up-to-date announcements.
As always, volunteers are needed! If you are interested in volunteering for one of the many activities of Engineers Week, please visit www.dvewc.org.
OUR NEW, IMPROVED WEBSITE…
…is now available for your use. We’re still at the same web address (asce-philly.org) but we’ve updated our look and options to be consistent with ASCE National’s desire to have consistency among the various Section websites. It was unveiled at our Spring Social in May.
Thanks to Kazi Hassan for his efforts in working with National to address the several issues associated with the revisions and in getting the revised site up and operational. Please take a peek (or visit longer) when you get a chance to see the new look and layout.
HEY, WHAT HAPPENED TO PAGES 7 AND 8?
In an effort to be more concise (a word of which your Editor may be a little fuzzy on its meaning), save trees, be more sustainable, (blah blah blah), we at THE NEWS have made a concerted effort to give you more with less. You may have noticed the same great (?) content but in fewer pages, which will help us with printing and mailing costs for those few hangers-on who get the hard copy, and maybe conserve some cyberspace as well on our website.
We have been able to use the formerly-blank area on the last page for content to help do this (this is where the mailing label used to appear – we are now sending this to the snail-mail set in envelopes) and also tighten your Editor’s leash a little. One thing you may have noticed is that our Section meeting report is shorter and less detailed than in the past, but we are hoping to make up for this with photos (which we know are worth a thousand words each…).
It remains our goal to give you the information you need on a timely basis as well as to provide some off-topic light reading when we can and we promise not to skimp on what is important to our members. We hope you will continue to enjoy THE NEWS. As always, your feedback is welcome.
Page 4 November 2015T H E N E W S
Continued on Page 5
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCES TECHNICAL GROUPMEETINGSWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28SUBJECT: Use of Plants for Phytoremediation and Storm Water ManagementSPEAKER: Meredith Harris, PE, Roux AssociatesTIME: 12:00 NoonLOCATION: Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PaDEP), 2 E. Main Street, NorristownCOST: $15 (includes lunch)RSVP by Monday, October 26
The use of plants to manage both contaminated media and nonpoint source stormwater runoff has seen significant growth in the past several years and is even mandated under certain regulatory programs. Ms. Harris will discuss the unique characteristics of certain plants to manage contaminated media and stormwater runoff, regulatory drivers and case studies.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16SUBJECT: Striving to be Energy-NeutralSPEAKER: Paul Kohl, PE, Energy Program Manager, Philadelphia Water DepartmentTIME: 5:30 pm Registration/Networking; 6:00 pm DinnerLOCATION: Michael’s Restaurant & Deli, 130 Town Center Road, Valley Forge Center, King of PrussiaCOST: members $30, students $20RSVP by Friday, November 13
In an effort to mitigate the creation of Greenhouse Gases, wastewater utilities are engaging in energy production as well as energy use reduction with the ultimate goal of being energy producers. They are engaged in the reduction of the use of primary energy. Wastewater that enters each of our treatment plants contains more energy than is needed to treat it, therefore it should be captured and beneficially used. Traditionally we think of energy in the terms of chemical energy that can be converted into electricity (anaerobic digestion) but there are other forms too with heat recovery being the largest untapped sector. Mr. Kohl will outline the City’s current program on this.
Reservations and payment can be made by PayPal at our Section’s website (asce-philly.org). Payment for reservations by check can be made at the event (checks should be made payable to “Philadelphia Section ASCE”). Contact Eric Lindhult at (215) 852-0068 or [email protected] if you have any questions or if you will be unable to attend after you have registered.
Attendees are eligible for one (1) Professional Development Hour (PDH) for attending each of these presentations.
HIGHWAY CAPACITY MANUAL (HCM) MAJOR UPDATE SEMINAROur counterparts at the Lehigh Valley Section are
sponsoring a seminar on the updated Highway Capacity Manual (HCM), as a Major Update (HCM 2015) is coming. This will provide an overview of the changes as compared with the current HCM 2010, including many methodological details. The information provided in this workshop is fairly technical toward learning what to expect from the updated HCM 2015 procedures and their implementation in the Highway Capacity Software (HCS7). DATE: Thursday, November 5TIME: 8:00 am Registration; 8:30 am–4:30 pm Seminar LOCATION: Lehigh University; Iacocca Hall, Governor’s Suite; 111 Research Drive; Bethlehem, PA 18015COST: $150 per person, includes box lunchCREDIT: 7 PDH’s will be awarded for successful completionINSTRUCTOR: William M. Sampson, PE
Mr. Sampson is a faculty member of the University of Florida (UF) Department of Civil Engineering with nearly 40 years of experience. He is the Director of the McTrans Center and also is responsible for technical assistance and ongoing development of the Highway Capacity Software (HCS). He teaches two graduate courses (Traffic Engineering and Highway Capacity Analysis) at UF. He is a former member of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Highway Capacity and Quality of Service (HCQS) committee.
For further information please contact Tim Kramer at [email protected] or (610) 691-5644.
NOVEMBER DINNER MEETINGContinued from Page 1
Michael Venuto is a dedicated public service employee and has served at the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) for 15 years. He has been the agency’s Chief Engineer for the past five years. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Rutgers University, a MBA from Lehigh University and a Bachelor of Science in Surveying Engineering Technology from New Jersey Institute of Technology. He is a member of the New Jersey Society of Professional Land Surveyors and the Engineers’ Club of Philadelphia in addition to ASCE.
John Parola is a Senior Vice President with HNTB Corporation and currently serves as East Coast Rail leader with responsibilities for Rail Projects from Maine to Florida. He has over 47 years of experience within the rail industry. He has been with HNTB for 14 years serving in various capacities from Market Sector Leader, District Leader, Division Sales Officer and High Speed Rail Campaign leader. Prior to joining HNTB he held various positions within the rail industry at Amtrak, Canadian Pacific Railway, Delaware and Hudson Railroad, Conrail and Penn Central.
Alex Lawrason is an associate Vice President with HNTB Corporation, and has been with the firm for 15 years. Prior to HNTB, he was a Field Engineer with Mowat Construction Company and also worked for the Portland (OR) Bureau of Transportation. He performs project management and resident Engineering work for assorted bridge, roadway and railroad construction moni-toring projects including rehabilitation, seismic retrofit, hardening and new construction for projects including the Golden Gate Bridge, the Walt Whitman and Ben Franklin Bridges, and the New Jersey Turnpike.
MEMBERS IN THE NEWSKNUEPPEL SELECTED TO LEAD SEPTA
Section Member and 2015 Civil Engineer of the Year Jeff Knueppel was announced as the General Manager of SEPTA in late September. Jeff has succeeded Joseph Casey in this position effective October 1, following GM Casey’s retirement. As the tenth person to serve as General Manager in SEPTA’s 41-year history, Jeff will oversee 9,300 employees and the operation of the sixth largest transportation agency in the country.
Prior to his appointment as GM, Jeff, a 27-year veteran of the Authority, served as Deputy General Manager in charge of two divisions —Operations and Engineering, Maintenance, & Construction (EM&C) — as well as several Staff Support Departments. He joined SEPTA in 1988 as an entry level Structural Engineer where his projects focused on the repair of aging elevated transit structures, bridges and tunnels. He quickly moved up within the organization and after several job advancements was promoted to Chief Engineer. He was Assistant General Manager/Chief Engineer of the EM&C Division, before assuming
the responsibility of Deputy General Manager.We congratulate Jeff on this appointment and are
proud to see an Engineer at the helm of SEPTA.
TWO NEW HIRES AT BERGMANNBergmann Associates is pleased to announce
two recent additions to staff in its local offices.Ted Daly will be leading Bergmann’s Ports &
Harbors group, based in Conshohocken. He will focus on the ports and navigation practice throughout the firm’s network of 12 offices across seven states. With over 26 years of ports and harbors operations/engineering leadership in New York, New Jersey and many international locations such as Brazil, Chile, Korea, Panama, and Colombia, he has proven expertise in planning, design, and operations of various waterfront terminals. He has a Bachelors in Marine Transportation from the State University of NY at Maritime (SUNY Maritime) and a Masters Civil Engineering from Norwich University.
November 2015 Page 5T H E N E W S
OCTOBER DINNER MEETINGOctober 8, 2015 Maggiano’s Little Italy, Center City
Transportation Planning for the Papal Visitby Robert Wright, Editor
An almost summer-like day and evening which would have otherwise tempted many of us to stay outside and enjoy it was also the date of our first meeting of the 2015-16 season, giving us a tough choice. Roughly 80 of us decided that the Italian food extravaganza awaiting us at Maggiano’s and the interesting topic and excellent presenters scheduled for the evening was the better choice, and we were not disappointed on either count as we packed the house.
With the historic visit of Pope Francis not quite two weeks before, the event was still fresh in our minds, and the meeting speakers, Laurie Matkowski of DVRPC, Jennifer Duval of Jacobs, and Rich Montanez of the City Department of Streets, related the detailed and intensive event planning effort of the papal visit and the concurrent World Meeting of Families. As we are aware, the event was a rousing success, although the anticipated number of participants was, by several estimates, lower than expected. The powerpoint that was shown included a “Where’s Francis?” theme
interspersed within the maps, facts and figures to make sure all watching would find the Pope in each slide.
President AnnMarie Vigilante opened the evening’s program with a “welcome back” and a welcome to our new “home” at Maggiano’s, as well as a few announcements. She asked Past President Ruben David to come to the front for his always appropriate blessing of the meal (although admittedly a little late so the salad and appetizers went unblessed…). As dinner concluded, Younger Member Forum Chris Renfro introduced the speakers, who individually walked the attendees through the various and numerous agencies and scores of meetings that were involved in the effort. All in all, it went off very well and showed our fair city in a good light internationally.
After the informative presentation, the speakers addressed several questions from the audience. President Vigilante thanked them for their good work and provided each with our new token of appreciation, a solar cell phone charger.
Speakers Jen Duval, Rich Montanez and Laurie Matkowski pose with President AnnMarie Vigilante.
Speakers Jen Duval and Laurie Matkowski are at the ready as Rich Montanez responds to a question from the audience.
In one of the presentation slides, the speakers and others pose with a lifelike cardboard cutout of Pope Francis.
TECHNICAL GROUPS/CHAIRSInformation on the ASCE, Philadelphia Sec-
tion’s Technical Groups is given below. If you have any topics that you think would be of interest to the Groups, please feel free to pass this information along to the appropriate Group Chair.
CONSTRUCTIONDennis MacBrideSEPTA1234 Market Street, 12th FloorPhiladelphia, PA [email protected]
DELAWARE VALLEY GEO-INSTITUTE (DVGI)Jay A. McKelvey IIIEarth Engineering115 W. Germantown Pike, Suite 200 Norristown, PA [email protected]
ENGINEERING MANAGEMENTAlex ReinerSEPTA1234 Market StreetPhiladelphia, PA [email protected]
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER RESOURCESEric [email protected]
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING INSTITUTE (SEI)John MiliusAECOM1700 Market Street, Suite 1600Philadelphia, PA [email protected]
TRANSPORTATION AND URBAN DEVELOPMENTWilliam T. ThomsenUrban Engineers, Inc.530 Walnut Street, 14th FloorPhiladelphia, PA 19106215-922-8080 [email protected]
Jay Sim has been appointed as a Senior Structural Engineer and Project Manager in the Transportation department of the firm’s Philadelphia, PA office. He was most recently with HDR Engineering as a Bridge Project Manager/Engineer in Plymouth Meeting. He has a Bachelors in Civil Construction Engineering from Temple University as well as certifications in bridge safety inspection and OSHA Roadway Construction Safety. He is a Professional Engineer in both Pennsylvania and New York and has extensive experience working with such clients as PennDOT, DelDOT, NJDOT, and the Port Authority of NY & NJ.
MEMBERS IN THE NEWS Continued from Page 4
Page 6 November 2015T H E N E W S
Additional Offices:PA, DE, MD, NJ, NY, CT, *TX
www.urbanengineers.com
Founded 1960 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified | Employee-Owned
530 Walnut StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19106
V: 215.922.8080*Non ISO Registered
®
DIRECT LINE: 610-617-6267CELL: 610-761-1303EMAIL: [email protected]
610-738-8762800-545-1531
24 Hagerty Blvd., Unit 11West Chester, PA 19382
Offices in PA, NJ, NY, MD and TX
Richard A. Horenberger, P.E.President
Subsurface Utility Engineers
UNDERGROUND SERVICES, INC.
www.hntb.com
HNTB Pennsylvania Locations:
1650 Arch Street Suite 1700 Philadelphia, PA 19103 215.568.6500
680 American Avenue Suite 100 King of Prussia, PA 19406 610.272.3310
4507 N. Front Street Suite 300 Harrisburg, PA 17110 717.526.7911
Services:» Transportation Planning & Permitting» Complete Streets & Trail Design» Bridge Design & Inspection» Traffic Signal & System Design» Environmental Services & Permitting» Construction Management & Inspection» Highway Design» Expert Witness Support for Crash Investigations www.TrafficPD.com | 215.622.2525
We are currently seeking professionals in various disciplines and locations.
Visit us at www.TrafficPD.com to check out our openings.
JBC ASSOCIATES, INC. Construction Management
120 S. Warner Road, Suite 100
King of Prussia, PA 19406
610.992.9090
Fax 610.992.9099
www.jbcassociates.com
“Success is in the details. We handle them for you.”
Integrated Engineering and Environmental Solutions
www.villanova.edu/VUSP
www.digioiagray.com
Pittsburgh, PA (Headquarters) Tempe, AZ Roanoke, VA CN ,ettolrahCAP ,nwotsttoP
Great Career Opportunities!
Consulting Engineers and Scientists
N-ASCE*WELCOME TO THE SHORE (MAYBE…)
Now that the summer’s over, and those who escaped the city for their “Pope-cations” have returned, Jersey Shore towns can relax, having survived the usual “invasion” of the out-of-towners — those coming for a day, a weekend, a week or two. If you are one of these “invaders”, you might hear different spins on this from the increasing numbers of folks who call the Shore home all year round. In South Jersey, visitors are often called “shoobies”, from the long-ago time that day-trippers packed their lunches in shoeboxes for their picnics on the beach. In North Jersey shore towns, you’ll hear the term “benny”, allegedly an acronym for Bayonne, Elizabeth, Newark and New York residents who descended upon those beaches.
In the last few years, another term for the summer tourists has shown up on bumper stickers indicating (with questionable grammar, we might add) that “I Ain’t No FOOT”. The “FOOT” in question is an out-of-towner, with an unprintable adjective preceding (we’re assuming this is not “Friendly”). While the basis for this is apparently the feeling of many year-rounders that the visitors bring all the noise, trash and traffic (while conveniently overlooking the added revenue that comes with them, on which the local economies are heavily dependent), the new nickname appears to be a new twist on an old attitude at the shore. In Monmouth and Ocean counties, black-and-white bumper stickers demanding “Bennies Go Home” are plastered on lamp poles, road signs, public benches and elsewhere. A road leading from Belmar to the Garden State Parkway commonly has a large wooden sign posted next to the pavement on Labor Day weekend bidding the Bennies goodbye and rejoicing that the locals “have our shore back.”
Something to keep in mind next summer when you’re planting that umbrella on the beach in Sea Isle or buying that slice of pizza on the Wildwood Boardwalk… (and maybe watch that tram car a little more carefully…?).
Thanks to nj.com for this information.
* N – ASCE – not always something concerning engineering…
