PHILADELPHIA SECTION Web 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 th Vol. 92-9 Our 107 Year May 2020 AND AWAY WE GO… If this title makes you think of Jackie Gleason, MAY “VIRTUAL” MEETING then you’re getting a little older than you’d like to think or admit… THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2020 And even though it seems that it’s too soon for Meeting Presentation – 12:00 Noon to 1:00 pm us to be writing this, we see by the calendar that SUBJECT: Schuylkill Crossing at Grays Ferry our season is about to wrap up. As strange as SPEAKERS: Joseph Syrnick, PE, Schuylkill River Development Corporation/Schuylkill Banks; things have been lately, and after another suc- William Gural, PE, Philadelphia Department of Streets; Tyler Barile, PE, Philadelphia Department cessful season, our Section’s extended summer of Streets vacation is nearly upon us, which means that RESERVATION DEADLINE – THURSDAY, MAY 7. There is no cost for ASCE members to THE NEWS goes away for a few months. We attend this presentation. Non-ASCE members will be charged $15. When registering, please have will return with new editions in September. your ASCE ID number available. Your membership will need to be current for you to be able to If we’re given the “nod” from our Board, we’ll register for the event as a member. take some time from the garden and other pur- Reservations can be made through our website (www.asce-philly.org) and paid via PayPal or by suits to pull together a short summer issue and check as applicable. Checks, made payable to “Philadelphia Section ASCE”, can be mailed as update probably around Independence Day. (You instructed when you register. are certainly welcome to convince the Board to As we have had to postpone our planned April multi-topic meeting and would like to provide a not let this happen…) Until then, our intrepid and meeting for our members while remaining within the constraints of social distancing and current dedicated staff, somehow led by our mediocre guidance on gatherings, we have decided to try a “virtual” meeting in order to do this. When you Editor, will take a well-earned break, as is our register you will receive information and instructions on how to access this meeting on your tradition, despite the opinion that many of you computer or device. have that we would actually need to do some- The presentation will cover the conceptual development, design and construction of the Schuylkill thing in order to take a break from it. (Outrages Continued on Page 2 can be directed to newseditor@asce-philly. org.) Thus, this will be the last full edition of THE SECTION EVENTS POSTPONED NEWS until our new season starts up in the fall. As you are no doubt aware, our Section and Technical Groups have had to postpone upcoming We wish you a good summer, we hope everyone planned events given current restrictions on large gatherings and requirements for social distancing. gets back to some semblance of normal, and We are closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation and will continue to make judgement calls and we’ll welcome you back in September. recommendations based on federal and state direction and guidance regarding hosting planned and upcoming events. Our Section leadership holds the health and safety of all our members as our top priority. For events that we determine should not be held as planned, we will send out a cancellation notice with the intention of rescheduling them at a future date. We ask for your patience as we continue to navigate through this situation and urge our membership to follow guidance provided by our gov- ernment and leadership to stay safe and healthy. If you have any questions regarding an event and/or your attendance at one, please contact the event contact person listed on your registration and/or the event website. We will keep you up to date through our regular e-mail blasts, website notices, and THE NEWS throughout the remainder of this summer. We appreciate your patience and cooperation during this unprecedented and ever-changing situation.
ASCE VISION SPRING SOCIAL UPDATE One of the events we unfortunately have had to postpone is our Section’s annual Spring Social Civil Engineers are global leaders and Awards Dinner, which was scheduled for May 14. The good news is the Social has been building a better quality of life. rescheduled for Thursday, September 24, and will be held at our planned location, Tendenza, in Northern Liberties. We will accordingly have our 2020 Section Award recipients recognized and ASCE MISSION congratulated at that time, and will welcome and install our incoming Officers and Board of Directors and thank those who have served in these positions over the past year. As always it will Provide essential value to our members be an enjoyable and memorable event, and we hope you can join us to share in the festivities. More and partners, advance Civil Engineering, information and reservation details will be provided on this later this summer. Please watch for this and serve the public good. in upcoming e-mail blasts and the Summer edition of THE NEWS. May 2020 THE NEWS Page 2
ASCE, PHILADELPHIA SECTION PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE OFFICERS AND BOARD OF In years past, the Section’s transition into a new year has been a normal and DIRECTION — 2019-20 SEASON smooth process. Typically, we wrap up our technical events in April and host PRESIDENT our Annual Spring Social in May. The social event lets us celebrate our award Kazi M. Hassan, Pennoni winners and gives us an opportunity to introduce our new Board members for PRESIDENT ELECT the following season. This year, however, COVID-19 is continuing to wreak Jennifer Reigle, Pennoni havoc in our communities and is redefining what normal is. Families all over VICE PRESIDENT the world are impacted and my heart goes out to those who lost someone in this Briana Earle, Langan Engineering COVID-19 battle. After weeks of stay-at-home orders and social distancing, we are all adjusting & Environmental Services to this new virtual world. We do not know what history has written for us, but for now, we will SECRETARY continue to adapt and stay ahead of this pandemic. Mohamed Elghawy, Traffic Planning Before we move on to next year, let’s take a moment to reflect on a successful 2019-20 season. & Design, Inc. The Section kicked off its technical meetings in October presenting on “Edge Hill Road/Tyson ASSISTANT SECRETARY Avenue reconstruction project in Montgomery County, PA.” The November meeting topic cov- Jeanien Wilson, Philadelphia Dept. of Streets ered the “Runway Rehabilitation at Trenton-Mercer Airport in Trenton, NJ.” In December, we TREASURER participated in the Multi-Society dinner meeting led by the Engineers’ Club of Philadelphia where Joseph Natale, DVRPC we discussed “Resiliency.” In January 2020, we collaborated with American Society of Highway Engineers (ASHE) and presented “Scudder Falls Bridge Replacement Project Update.” We took ASSISTANT TREASURER Caroline “Cricket” Schreppler, a break in our technical meetings in February to celebrate Engineers Week’s social events and Advantage Engineers continued in March with the “Construction of Comcast Technology Center.” These events only account for 25% of the 20 professional development hours (PDH) that were offered to our mem- MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY Andrew Bechtel, College of New Jersey bers last year. The remaining 75% of the PDH-worthy events were organized and hosted by our Tech Groups, including Structural Engineering Institute (SEI), Geotechnical Institute (DVGI), DIRECTORS Construction Management (CM), Transportation and Urban Development (T&DI), Environmental Kevin Brown, Urban Engineers, 2019-21 Michael DeVuono, Arcadis, 2019-20 and Water Resource Group (EWR) and the Younger Member Forum (YMF). Gregory Dunn, Michael Baker International, 2019-21 The Section was proud to be a part of the Eastern Regional Younger Member Conference Spencer Finch, Langan Engineering & (ERYMC) and Multi-Regional Leadership Conference (MRLC), which was held in downtown Environmental Sciences, 2018-20 Philadelphia. ERYMC and MRLC 2020 brought more than 500 Engineers and students from Tania O’Kane, HNTB, 2019-21 across the country to the City of Brotherly Love & Sisterly Affection. This conference set a new Nha Truong, Ernst & Young, 2018-20 standard for regional conferences and it would not have been possible without the leadership of PAST PRESIDENTS* Kevin Brown and Joe Natale. The two co-chairs, along with the ERYMC planning committee, Angelo Waters, Urban Engineers, Inc worked tirelessly to pull off an amazing 4-day conference. Cathy Farrell, HNTB If you are frequent reader of THE NEWS, you may have noticed our listing of the Section Guy DiMartino, Traffic Planning & Design, Inc. Committees. In addition to our Section officers and Board members, we are lucky to have numer- *In accordance with our Constitution and Bylaws, only the immediate Past President will serve on the Board, and ous volunteers who spearhead or provide support to various committees. The committee mem- only for a one-year term. We show the most recent three bers’ effort eases the responsibility of all volunteers involved in the yearly operation. Past Presidents as has become our tradition. My year as Section President flew by; I feel like it was just yesterday when I was handed the gavel by Angelo Waters at the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia. Leading this Section feels effort- Contact Us: less and that is because of the amazing Board members who supported me the entire year. I was President — Kazi M. Hassan, PE blessed to have people that are great leaders, passionate, strong communicators, and self-motiva- Highway Group Leader Pennoni Associates, Inc. tors. I could not have done it without you, so thank you! 1900 Market Street, Suite 300 To our upcoming President, Jen Reigle, I don’t need to wish you luck. I know you will do an Philadelphia, PA 19103 amazing job of leading the Section and if you ever need anything, you know where to find me. 215-254-7720; [email protected] Thank you to all our Section members for your continued support! Secretary — Mohamed Elghawy, PE Kazi M. Hassan, PE Construction Manager President, ASCE Philadelphia Section Traffic Planning & Design, Inc. [email protected] | 215-254-7720 Sanatoga Commons 2500 E. High Street, Suite 650 Pottstown, PA 19464 MAY MEETING 610-326-3100; [email protected] Continued from Page 1 Leadership consists Crossing at Grays Ferry, also known as the PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE “Swing Bridge”, which will carry the Schuylkill of nothing but taking Editor of THE NEWS River Trail across its namesake river from the Robert Wright Grays Ferry Crescent to Bartram’s Mile in South responsibility for Section Outreach Coordinator and Southwest Philadelphia. This effort utilizes a everything that goes Mohamed Elghawy former railroad swing bridge adjacent to the Staff Writers Grays Ferry Avenue Bridge to provide this cross- wrong and giving your Assunta Daprano, Lindsay Chateauvert ing and was developed as a unique and unusual SEND COPY TO: adaptation of an unused and abandoned structure subordinates credit ASCE, c/o Urban Engineers, Inc. to be repurposed to provide continuity for the 530 Walnut Street Trail. for everything Philadelphia, PA 19106 This presentation is eligible for one Professional that goes well. Development Hour (PDH). COPY DEADLINE FOR – Dwight D. Eisenhower SUMMER 2020 ISSUE JUNE 26, 2020 May 2020 THE NEWS Page 3 YOUNGER MEMBER FORUM NEWS Assunta Daprano, Forum Editor SECTION COMMITTEES Jesse Gormley, Forum President 2019-20 Our Section runs very well and it is mainly a result of the dedication Pennoni Associates and service of our many volunteers, both our Officers and Board [email protected] Members as well as our various Committees. While many of you know FE EXAM PANEL – DREXEL UNIVERSITY the former group well, you may not be all that aware of the latter. Our Committees address many of our regular and ongoing issues and keep MARCH 3 our Section vibrant and in the forefront of service to our membership. YMF visited Drexel Uni- A list of our Committees, chairs and members for this season is pro- versity to discuss with students vided below. We would like to thank all of these folks for their contri- the importance of taking and butions and diligence in helping our Section do what it does. passing the Fundamentals of Additionally, if you have a particular interest in helping the Section as a Engineering (FE) exam, while Committee volunteer, please reach out to us at [email protected] or explaining the exam’s role in the journey to becoming a through our Section Secretary, Mohamed Elghawy (contact information licensed Professional Engineer is provided on page 2). Committee assignments may change for the com- (PE). YMF volunteers Dani ing season and this will be sorted out over the summer. Schroeder (Pennoni), Tyler Audit – Briana Earle (chair), Cathy Farrell, Pat McCourt, Farley (TPD), and Paige Joe Natale, AnnMarie Vigilante Glassman (TPD) kicked off the night with introductions and a brief presen- Awards – Bob Wright (chair), Carol Martsolf, Allan Moore, tation outlining the exam, testing procedures, time constraints, topics of Joe Natale study, and providing useful ASCE and NCEES study tools. The volunteers then joined in with several students who have also already passed the exam Engineers Week Hall of Fame Recognition – Ruben David as a panel to field any other questions students had. The panel not only took Budget and Finance – Joe Natale (chair) this time to answer students’ questions, but to also share their firsthand Civil Engineers in Government – Jeanien Wilson (chair), experiences and provide quality advice to prepare, perform, and conquer Ruben David, Bob Wright the exam. YMF would like to thank all the volunteers for their time and the College Scholarship – Andrew Bechtel (chair), Joe Natale, Drexel University Student Chapter for organizing and hosting this infor- Angelo Waters, Bob Wright mative event. Communications – Mohamed Elghawy (chair) WORK FROM HOME PANEL – DREXEL UNIVERSITY E-mail Outreach – Jeanien Wilson APRIL 15 Webmaster – Greg Dunn YMF returned to Drexel, this time via Zoom, to discuss with students how our workforce has coped with the COVID-19 stay at home order. Social Media – Joe Natale, Michael DeVuono After introductions, an open discussion followed with the students and Newsletter – Bob Wright (editor), Assunta Daprano, YMF volunteers Kevin Brown (Urban), Kirsten Brown (Urban), Assunta Lindsay Chateauvert Daprano (AECOM), and Paige Glassman (TPD) on a variety of topics Sponsorship – Bob Wright including sick time, working from home set-ups, social distancing on the Continuing Education – Briana Earle (chair) job, and focusing strategies. YMF would like to thank all the volunteers for Humphrey Fund – John Zarsky (chair); Ruben David, Joe Platt their time and the Drexel University Student Chapter for organizing and (trustees); Mohamed Elghawy, Kazi Hassan (members) hosting this informative event. Membership – Andrew Bechtel (chair) 2020 SECTION AWARD NOMINEES — Mural – Angelo Waters (chair), Ruben David, Bob Wright Nominating (for Board Positions) – Kazi Hassan (chair), Greg CONGRATULATIONS! Dunn, Troy Illig, Jen Reigle, Angelo Waters, Bob Wright Annual Spring Social and Our Section Awards will be presented at our Program – Jen Reigle (chair) Dinner Dance, which will be conducted on September 24 (please see the Venue Coordination – Troy Illig separate article on this). This year’s awardees are: Check-in/Name Tags – Nha Truong (chair), Mike DeVuono, • Darin Gatti, Philadelphia Department of Streets – Philadelphia Civil Greg Dunn, Kazi Hassan, Tom Kulesher, Tania O’Kane, Engineer of the Year • Dennis Wilson, McCormick Taylor – Philadelphia Young Civil Tony Rauso, Jeanien Wilson, Wendy Yang Engineer of the Year Society Relations – Cathy Farrell (chair) • Robert Lund, SEPTA – Transportation Engineer of the Year Region 2 Governors – Carol Martsolf, Jack Raudenbush • Sarah McInnes, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation – Region 2 Younger Member Representative – Joe Natale Geotechnical Engineer of the Year PA Council – Cathy Farrell, Bob Wright • Gregory Dunn, Michael Baker International – Structural Engineer of Legislative Affairs – Spencer Finch the Year • Louis Belmonte, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation – Spring Social – Troy Illig (chair), Briana Earle, Kazi Hassan, Government Service Award AnnMarie Vigilante, Jenn Walsh, Jeanien Wilson, Bob Wright • Lindsay Chateauvert, Amtrak, and Danielle Schroeder, Pennoni – Subsidiary Groups – Briana Earle Community Outreach and Service Award Construction Management – Dennis MacBride We hope you will join us at the Social to honor our Awardees for this year. Delaware Valley GeoInstitute – Russ Preuss More information on our awardees will be included in our October edi- Environmental and Water Resources – Eric Lindhult tion of THE NEWS. Structural Engineering Institute – Dan Kucz Transportation & Urban Development – Bill Thomsen Younger Member Forum – Jesse Gormley May 2020 THE NEWS Page 4
SPONSORS IN THE NEWS MEMBERS IN THE NEWS ASCE, PHILADELPHIA SECTION LLOYD RECOGNIZED FOR BRADY JOINS BERGMANN OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTION — 2020-21 SEASON OUTSTANDING SERVICE Section Past President Tom The Delaware Valley Engineers Week Com- Brady has joined national The slate of Section officers and Board mittee of the Engineers’ Club of Philadelphia architecture, engineering and members was adopted by the Board at its proudly recognized Herman W. Lloyd for his planning firm Bergmann as April meeting and these individuals will be Outstanding Service to Engineering. This award Senior Project Manager, officially inducted and sworn in at the Spring was presented to Herman at the Engineers Week Atlantic Infrastructure. He Social. They are as follows: Opening Ceremony on February 13. brings over 26 years of expe- PRESIDENT Herman recently joined Traffic Planning & rience in various aspects of Jennifer Reigle, Pennoni Design, Inc., as a Vice President, where he focuses highway design and project PRESIDENT ELECT on further expansion of the firm’s Philadelphia management, from preliminary studies to final Briana Earle, Langan Engineering presence, continuation of relationships with cur- design. His expertise includes horizontal and & Environmental Services rent clients, pursuit of new clients and relation- vertical geometry, interchange design, Right-of- VICE PRESIDENT ships, and leadership of diversity and inclusion Way and Construction Plans, Signing and Mohamed Elghawy, Traffic Planning (D & I) efforts. He began his career in the AEC Pavement Marking Plans, Traffic Control Plans, & Design, Inc. industry more than 50 years ago, during a time cost estimates, utility and agency coordination SECRETARY when diversity was not valued as it is today, start- and PUC submissions. Jesse Gormley, Pennoni ing in 1962 as a Construction Inspector at the Tom has a vast range of PennDOT experience, TREASURER Pennsylvania Department of Highways (PDH), including serving as a project manager and lead Joseph Natale, DVRPC engineer on several projects. He will work out of now the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY (Penn-DOT). During his 29-year career with the Bergmann’s office in Conshohocken and assist the Andrew Bechtel, College of New Jersey State, he rose through the ranks in the District 6-0 firm as it continues to grow across eastern Penn- sylvania. He will take on leadership of the firm’s DIRECTORS Construction Unit to Assistant District Construction Kevin Brown, Urban Engineers, 2020-22 current work in PennDOT District 4 and will pro- Engineer. He retired from PennDOT in January Scott Cepietz, Michael Baker International, 2020-22 1991, and he is still the only African American to vide ample growth opportunities of other staff. Michael DeVuono, Arcadis, 2020-21 ever serve in the position of Assistant District Tom is a Professional Engineer licensed in Gregory Dunn, Michael Baker International, 2019-21 Construction Engineer. Following his retirement, Pennsylvania and is a member of the American Thomas Kulesher, JMT, 2020-22 he spent 28 years at two local consulting engineer- Society of Highway Engineers in addition to our Tania O’Kane, HNTB, 2019-21 ing and construction management firms. Section. He earned his Bachelor of Science PAST PRESIDENTS* Herman’s prior professional organization lead- degree in Civil Engineering from Drexel Univer- Kazi Hassan, Pennoni ership accomplishments include service in various sity along with a subsequent Masters degree from Angelo Waters, Urban Engineers, Inc Cathy Farrell, HNTB capacities with the Delaware Valley Section of the Villanova University. We wish Tom good luck in his new endeavor. *In accordance with our Constitution and Bylaws, only American Society of Highway Engineers (ASHE), the immediate Past President will serve on the Board, and culminating in Section President (1998-99), as a only for a one-year term. We show the most recent three Board Member for Pennsylvanians for Trans- Past Presidents as has become our tradition. portation Solutions (PenTrans), a member and In addition, these folks will serve . strong supporter of the Women’s Transportation N-ASCE* in appointed positions: Seminar, and a Past Chair for the prestigious THE YELLOW FEVER EPIDEMIC OF 1793 ASSISTANT SECRETARY Philadelphia March of Dimes Transportation, AND ITS IMPACT ON THE BUILT Jeanien Wilson, Philadelphia Dept. of Streets Building and Construction Awards Luncheon, ENVIRONMENT ASSISTANT TREASURER having served as Chair of the event in 2016 and The unusual situation we find ourselves in at Caroline “Cricket” Schreppler, 2017. He also serves as a trusted advisor for the present has been experienced before – maybe not Advantage Engineers Philadelphia Chapter of the Conference of Min- in our lifetimes, but… You may have heard ref- We wish these brave and generous folks our ority Transportation Officials and he received the erences to the “Spanish Flu” outbreak of 1918, collective good luck for the coming season. 2015 COMTO Executive of the Year Award. He but there were others. is a member of the ACEC/PA Diversity & Inclu- Philadelphia was laid out as a planned city by poor who could not afford to flee to safer territory sion Committee and is a member of the ACEC- William Penn and Thomas Holme. Having wit- in the city’s outskirts. The streets and alleys clos- DPC Diversity & Inclusion Working Group. He is nessed the aftermath of the Great Fire of London, est to the wharf were the “red” zones. Thus the also a close associate with the Chamber of Penn envisioned an orderly, verdant city with a built environment significantly impacted the Commerce for Greater Philadelphia’s Diversity & green space in each quadrant. Penn and Holme spread of the disease. The yellow fever epidemic Inclusion Committee, currently working with the expected balanced settlement on the banks of likewise influenced the built environment. Supplier Diversity Roundtable. both the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers. One of the five squares provided in Penn’s plan Herman holds a bachelor’s degree in Organi- Thwarting this orderly vision right from the for the city was Southeast Square. It was origi- zational Management from Eastern University and beginning, the city developed exclusively along nally a potter’s field, across what is now 6th an associate degree in Civil Engineering from the Delaware River with the greatest density Street from the Walnut Street Jail. During the Delaware County Community College. On the closest to the port. The precisely laid out square Revolutionary War hundreds of soldiers killed in personal side, he is a life-long member of Calvary parcels were subdivided and alleys were cut into battles were buried in the field. When the yellow Baptist Church in West Philadelphia, where he the uniform street grid. fever hit, an additional 1300 victims were serves on its Board of Directors. He and his wife, The density close to the river had deadly impli- interred there, to the point that the city declared Mattie, have been married for 57 years, and have cations when mosquitoes carrying yellow fever it full to capacity. A block away, in 1797, four children, along with a host of grandchildren stowed away on ships arriving from the Caribbean. William Sansom bought land at auction on which and great-grandchildren. Sailors residing in a boarding house near the port he constructed the city’s first purposely built set We congratulate Herman on this esteemed were the first to fall to the disease. During the of uniform row houses. Designed by the coun- honor. summer and fall of 1793, nearly 10 percent of the try’s first certified architect Benjamin Latrobe, city’s population perished. Hardest hit were the Continued on page 5 May 2020 THE NEWS Page 5
LOOKING TO REFER A NEW “CLASS OF 2020” LIFE MEMBERS MEMBER? OR SOMEONE Life Membership in ASCE is a major milestone WHO’S NOT AN ENGINEER? in a member’s tenure. To achieve Life Membership, one must have reached the age of 65, paid dues for ASCE’s Member Get A Member referral pro- a minimum of 30 years, and have 10 years’ con- gram is a good way to refer prospective new tinuous membership immediately preceding the ASCE members to our society. For each new attainment of Life Membership. And, even better, member you refer, you can receive a $50 Life Members are exempt from dues and need Amazon.com gift card when they join. You can only pay a small service fee to receive Civil refer up to five colleagues at a time. More details Engineering magazine. are available at asce.org. Our Section welcomes 16 newly-minted Life Also, please keep in mind that ASCE isn’t just PA REPORT CARD CATEGORY Members as our “Class of 2020”: for Civil Engineers. While you may be surprised Susan Best OF THE MONTH: ENERGY to learn this, ASCE allows Non-Engineers to be Jack Bienenfeld Pennsylvania benefits from having diverse, reli- members as well, with a specific grade of mem- John Brun able and affordable energy resources, and utilizes bership – the Affiliate Member grade – available Michael Byle those resources to rank third in the country in for this purpose. While those with Civil Engi- Bruce Grier terms of total energy production. The state has a neering degrees and backgrounds can usually William Grosskopf solid foundation of energy generation, transmis- join ASCE right out of school as Associate Eugene Gruber sion, and distribution infrastructure that is con- Members (and are eligible for reduced levels of D. Kirk Harman tinuing to transform and react to market forces. dues if they have been Student Members), the Richard Horenberger However, Pennsylvania must also contend with Affiliate Member grade is available to anyone Michael Marquis increasing energy dependence and reliability having “an interest in the advancement of the John McElroy requirements, aging infrastructure, and physical purposes and objectives of the Society”, as stated Martina Moore and cyber threats. While a portion of Pennsylvania’s in the definition provided in the ASCE Register, Paul Pettit Electric Distribution Companies have been chal- who may not have been eligible for Student Roman Pronczak lenged with meeting reliability standards in recent Membership and/or do not meet the criteria for Chris Rood (Section Past President) years, the infrastructure appears to meet the cur- Associate Membership. Richard Tannahill rent needs. It is clear that collaborative involve- Thus, the Affiliate Member grade is ideal for Last month, we had reported that there 15 new ment among utilities, electric generation compa- those who work in related fields who may have an Life Members, but since then we were advised nies, regulators, and policymakers will be required interest in Civil Engineering but do not have a that there is one additional, Susan Best, who was to ensure investments and proposed projects Civil Engineering degree. Affiliate Members inadvertently omitted from the list provided by address future system needs, such as renewables enjoy the same benefits and perks of ASCE mem- ASCE National. We have looked into this and and evolving industry trends, while considering bership as do other member grades above Student. the correction was made. the impacts to affordability. Additionally, you may want to let some of your We had intended to cite these esteemed indi- Compelling Statistic: Four of the state’s 11 elec- colleagues and friends know about this so they can viduals in person, as we usually do, at our April tric distribution companies failed to meet reliabil- consider ASCE membership and you can get Section Meeting. With that being postponed, we ity performance metrics set by state regulators. some cash for the referral. will reschedule the presentation of the Life At the other end of the “spectrum”, for those of Member certificates to these individuals for our you more senior and experienced members, the rescheduled Spring Social in September (see the In addition to the Board of Health, a Watering Fellow grade of membership is worth consider- separate article on this) so we can honor them Committee was established in the aftermath of ation. This is the highest level of membership accordingly in person. the yellow fever epidemic. In 1799, a steam- one can attain on one’s own and is a laudable and We congratulate our incoming Life Members on powered water treatment system was designed esteemed achievement. The specific require- this honorable accomplishment and thank them by Benjamin Latrobe. His innovation established ments for application for this grade of member- for their long-time support as Section members. the nation’s first municipal water supply, fed ship are listed on asce.org. from a pumping station at Centre Square (now the location of City Hall). After finishing this N-ASCE* lished. In 1799, the board ordered the construc- project, Latrobe was hired by his friend Thomas Continued from Page 4 tion of a complex of buildings on an island in the Jefferson to oversee the construction of the US Sansom Row was also the first speculative devel- Delaware River about seven miles south of the Capitol. He also designed the White House por- opment in the city. The buildings at 705 and 707 city, in Tinicum Township. The Lazaretto was tico and several other DC landmarks. Ironically, Walnut Street remain today. the nation’s first inspection and quarantine sta- he died of yellow fever in 1820 after completing Affluent people moved to these homes and then tion. Ships bound for the port of Philadelphia a water system for New Orleans. demanded that the former potter’s field be trans- were required to stop there for examination of By 1811, the Centre Square station could no formed into a park. The City complied, installing both cargo and the people on board. Sick sailors longer meet the needs of the growing city. A new walkways and over 200 trees, and in 1825 the park and passengers were quarantined in the facility’s steam powered pumping station was erected, this was renamed Washington Square. The Walnut hospital before proceeding to the city. Those who time near the Schuylkill River. The Farimount Street Jail was demolished in 1838. On a parcel of died were buried at the site’s graveyard. Although Water Works pumped water from the river into a the former prison’s footprint, the Athenaeum of not as well-known as Ellis Island, the Lazaretto reservoir on Fair Mount. Gravity fed pipes sent Philadelphia was constructed in 1847 as the first was also once the leading point of entry for water to the rest of the city. The Water Works Italianate building in the city. Thus, Washington immigrants to the United States. At the turn of was both an architectural and technological won- Square was destined to become something more the 20th century, it was closed as a quarantine der. City residents and visitors flocked to the site than a potter’s field, but the yellow fever epidemic station and used for several other purposes since to admire the beautiful setting, the picturesque certainly sped up the timetable. then. In 2006, a compromise was reached to architecture, and the impressive technology. Following the devastation of 1793 and several maintain the site’s buildings while also allowing During the 19th century, it was second only to smaller yellow fever outbreaks later that decade, for development on the land. It is the oldest sur- Niagara Falls as the nation’s most popular tourist the Philadelphia Board of Health was estab- viving quarantine station in the United States. Continued on page 6 May 2020 THE NEWS Page 6
N-ASCE* Continued from Page 5 Providing transportation engineering and related services attraction. In the 1850s, Fairmount Park was across the eastern United States established in order to protect the segment of the Offices located in PA, NJ, MD, and NC Schuylkill River’s watershed that provided clean water to the city. Est. 1989 TRAFFIC PLANNING The Fairmount Water Works and the City’s AND DESIGN, INC. Y ears Moving Forward Together® water distribution system were sufficiently advanced for their time that they were recognized 215.622.2525 www.TrafficPD.com as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1974, the second of four Landmarks We Make a Difference to be designated by ASCE in our Section’s cov- erage area (the first was the Frankford Avenue Bridge in 1970, with others being the City Plan Proud to celebrate 20 years of Philadelphia in 1996 and City Hall in 2006). in the Delaware Valley Region The Water Works additionally gained status as a Fort Washington • Philadelphia National Historic Landmark from the federal government in 1976. The biggest impact on Philadelphia’s built environment is, however, what did not happen in the years following the yellow fever epidemic. In 1793, the city was the financial center of the United States. The first Bank of the United States and the first stock exchange were located here. Its port was among the busiest in North America. HARRISBURG WAYNE PHILADELPHIA 3605 Vartan Way, 993 Old Eagle School Road, Two Penn Center Plaza, After yellow fever, however, other cities embar- Suite 202 Suite 408 1500 JFK Boulevard, Harrisburg, PA 17110 Wayne, PA 19087 Suite 1208 goed goods coming from Philadelphia and mer- 1.717.541.4001 1.610.293.0450 Philadelphia, PA 19102 chants were wary of sending cargo to the city. In 1.215.636.0600 1796, New York overtook Philadelphia in the value of imports. A year later, it exceeded the city in exports. Additionally, in 1793 Philadelphia was the capital of both Pennsylvania and the US. When yellow fever struck, the federal and state govern- ments fled to places like Germantown and Grays Ferry. George Washington’s household moved to the Deshler Morris House, the so-called Germantown White House. In 1799, the state capital was moved to Lancaster, and the national capital moved to Washington, DC a year later. If Philadelphia had become an economic power- house akin to New York City, or the national capital like Washington, it is unlikely that it urbanengineers.com would have developed as the walkable, neighbor- 215.922.8080 hood-based, blue collar, and proudly parochial www.villanova.edu/VUSP city that it is today. It is worth considering how different our city might look if scientists had not taken until 1900 to understand that mosquitoes, not unclean water, was the cause of yellow fever. Thanks to Hidden City for this information. YOUR CARD CAN BE HERE! *N-ASCE – Not always something concerning Engineering… CONTACT US AT How far you go in life depends [email protected] on your being tender with the FOR DETAILS The HNTB Companies young, compassionate with Infrastructure Solutions www.hntb.com the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of Integrated Engineering and the weak and strong. Because Environmental Solutions someday in your life you will have been all of these. Allentown | Harrisburg | King of Prussia – George Washington Carver Philadelphia | Pittsburgh May 2020 THE NEWS Page 7
THANKS AGAIN TO OUR SPONSORS! ADJUSTING TO THE “NEW NORMAL” As you have seen, the Section Sponsorship In the midst of the current shutdown situation Program was once again popular this season, with with COVID-19, many of us have had to quickly 13 firms taking part and supporting us. We extend adjust to working remotely, most often from our special and collective THANKS to each spon- home. We are indeed fortunate that today’s tech- sor for their financial commitment and support. nology allows this to happen, and we are indeed Sponsor logos have also been included in a spe- thankful that we are still able to work and make cial Sponsors section of our website, where a direct a living (a “luxury” many do not enjoy these link is provided to each sponsor’s website to allow days), but for a number of us it has been a transi- folks to easily visit and review potential employ- tion and adjustment that had to be made very ment openings and positions. In addition, their quickly.Danielle Schroeder, an Associate business cards are published in each edition of THE Bridge Engineer at Pennoni in Center City and NEWS to show their commitment and support. the chair of the K-12 Outreach Committee on our a perfect setup, I have been able to keep up with As usual, we will be contacting current sponsors Younger Member Forum, was kind enough to work to meet deadlines. About mid-way through later this summer (after our hiatus) to see if they share her experiences with us. the first week, I started to miss my L-shaped will be returning as sponsors for next season. And, office desk where I was able to spread out associ- if you’re not among this group but would like to ated papers to what I was working on (photo at be, please contact Bob Wright at newseditor@ left). From what I currently had at my apartment, asce-philly.org for more details and information. I improvised a side table from some plastic stor- age containers that I use to hold off-season clothes (photo above). AND THANKS TO OUR OTHER SPONSORS! Of course, working from home comes with its In addition to our Section Sponsorship own set of challenges. I have learned the impor- Program, our Technical Group for the geotechni- tance of taking breaks, especially to go outside cal specialty, the Delaware Valley Geo-Institute and get some fresh air. I typically bought my (DVGI), has established a sponsor network of its lunch most days at work, so with this transition I own to help support its programs, student awards Pennoni has taken measures to address safety, have been instead taking a short walk either at and scholarship. Its sponsors’ cards are included community concerns, and continue to meet our lunch time or after work hours. I was also miss- in each edition of its newsletter, which can be clients’ needs while making decisions with the ing the “water cooler” conversations that would accessed at the Group’s website, www.dvgi.org. health of our employees at the forefront. I work naturally happen throughout the week in the These 32 (!) firms are the following: in Pennoni’s Philadelphia Transportation Group, office. To mend this, the “Fun Committee” for ACF Environmental and we’ve made the transition to work from our group decided to have some dedicated posts Aero Aggregates* home for the time being. I have been working throughout the week, including one day asking American Geotechnical & Environmental remotely from my apartment since March 17 everyone to post a photo (or recipe) to something Services (AGES) and, so far, it has been pretty smooth transition. they were eating throughout that day. A col- Drexel University* To keep connected throughout the workday and league started a #FitnessFriday post where he Earth Engineering troubleshoot various problems, we have been encouraged each person do 20 pushups every 2 Earthcore Services using Microsoft Teams. Our Bridge group has hours as to not interrupt productivity and provide Gannett Fleming implemented 30-minute check-ins every other a much needed break. I am not quite sure how GEI Consultants day with the entire group to keep us on track and many actually completed the pushups but it led to GeoStructures we each have scheduled blocks of time on our some fun and much needed conversation in our Golder calendars for each project we are working on so group. GZA everyone on our team can see what we are sched- While I have the luxury to be able to work from Hayward Baker uled to work on. home, there are some who cannot, including Hillis-Carnes Engineering Associates One of the main positives of working from many within the Engineering profession such as Inova Geosynthetics home is I have a shorter distance to fill up my those manufacturing lifesaving medicines. I James J. Anderson Construction water bottle, so I’ve been drinking more water wanted to close out this post by thanking those Kleinfelder than usual. I also love the ability to sing along to who are still traveling to work every day during Lafayette College my music (which wouldn’t fly in the office!) and this international crisis. Having a partner in the Langan * the extra hour and half of my day that I don’t healthcare profession, I would also like to remind Lehigh University have to spend commuting to and from the office everyone in these unprecedented times to be alert Maser Consulting I have been using to tackle various apartment and not anxious and follow the associated guide- Menard Group USA cleaning tasks. Though it hasn’t completely been lines published by the CDC and WHO. Peirce Engineering Quantum Geophysics Rimkus Consulting Group DELAWARE VALLEY SCIENCE FAIRS CANCELLED Rowan University Among the many events that had to be can- to simplify the situation somewhat. Unfortu- Schnabel Engineering celled as a result of requirements for social dis- nately, this affected our Section’s participation in Temple University tancing was the Delaware Valley Science Fairs, the Fairs, as we have offered our Special Awards TRC which had been scheduled for April 8. While the to four individual student projects that have a University of Delaware Fairs has decided to go forward and continue to Civil Engineering theme, with two prizes for University of Pennsylvania provide judging for a number of its usual awards Grades 6 through 8 and two for Grades 9 through Villanova University and prizes, it will do so virtually. As this process 12, and have done so for over 25 years.Thus, we Widener University will be a little more complicated and time-con- have no Special Awards winners to report. Those marked with * are also Section sponsors. suming than in years past, the Fairs decided to We are hopeful we can return to our “normal” We extend our THANKS to each sponsor for cancel the Special Awards component of judging Special Awards judging and prizes next year. their financial commitment and support.