Fall 2016 a Publication of Emh&T Engineers, Surveyors, Planners, Scientists
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in JEN ee um: Latin. Natural disposition of talents. Root word for “engineer” IngeniumFALL 2016 A PUBLICATION OF EMH&T ENGINEERS, SURVEYORS, PLANNERS, SCIENTISTS Imagining Automated Vehicles Message from Sandy As the winner of the US Department of Transportation’s “Smart City Challenge,” Columbus, Ohio, will be putting to good use the grant money it received as part of this nationwide competition. The Smart City Challenge was all about the future of transportation infrastructure and how cities can make it “smarter” in ways that benefit everyone in their community. EMH&T was proud to contribute some of our talent in the preparation of the City’s submittal and are pleased to be part of this significant win for Columbus! Transportation modeling was our solution. In Belmont County, Ohio a major interchange Celebrating 90 Years! on I-70 was in need of operational as well as Ninety years ago, Gordon E. Evans founded a accessibility and connectivity improvement. small land surveying firm to support the growing In the past few years the area around this local development market. Eventually, a few rural interchange had grown significantly. friends joined him in his company and the small EMH&T helped ODOT improve this interstate surveying firm grew and grew until it became one infrastructure to better contribute to health and of the largest full-service civil engineering and safety in a rural area…and our multi-disciplinary land surveying firms in the state. approach to solving project challenges was a part of the solution! But let me walk that back just a few steps. I called us a “full service civil engineering and land Our GIS team provides the solutions many surveying” firm. That limiting description simply communities need to link their constituency with misses the greatest point of this company. municipal services. Take a look at how Service Request Centers can help municipalities respond Our diversity of expertise is why I describe EMH&T to citizen requests related to infrastructure. another way. We are solution-oriented partners. We take the time to understand each individual So take a few minutes to explore these pages and client’s needs and goals, ensuring they are consider the impact Gordon Evans could only achieved. Our personal investment starts before have dreamed of. And CHEERS! Here’s to you, our a project is commenced and lasts well after it is clients that have made turning 90 possible. completed. We provide solutions on projects for which we share a sense of ownership with our client-partners. That’s a much better description of this firm. The variety of projects, disciplines, resources, and Sandy Doyle-Ahern expertise depicted on the following pages is a real testament to our solution-oriented nature. President Ingenium EMH&T Engineers, Surveyors, Planners, Scientists 5500 New Albany Road Columbus, Ohio 43054 Columbus Charlotte Indianapolis (888) 775-EMHT emht.com Sandra C. Doyle-Ahern, MEn President Douglas E. Romer, PE Executive Vice President Craig A. Bohning, PE, LEED AP Vice President Charles A. Rodenfels, AIA, LEED AP Vice President Editor and Graphic Design Lee Ruh Director of Communications Contents Assistant Editors and Writers Quinn Sammons Showing Off Our Smarts In The Smart City Gretchen Klamar Paul Davis 1 Challenge Ingenium is a semi-annual publication of EMH&T. It is designed to provide in- Reimagining A Complex Interchange formation on issues that are relevant to 5 public officials and public servants of all levels, spanning the full array of pub- lic works industries. To add your name ODOT’s Commitment To Environmental Monitoring to the mailing list for Ingenium, please 9 Keeps Projects Moving send an e-mail to [email protected] with your name, address, e-mail and phone number. Service Request Centers: Moving Into the Field Past issues of Ingenium are available at 11 emht.com. 13 Whitehall: Opportunity Is Here 15 Indiana Survey Resources 17 Shorts 19 People In The News 20 Contact Us and Come See Us Showing Off Our Smarts In The Smart City Challenge When the City of Columbus, Ohio, was announced The desired outcome is to establish systems that in late June as the winner of the US Department of reduce congestion, keep travelers safe, protect Transportation’s (USDOT) “Smart City Challenge” the environment, respond to climate change, grant, it was the culmination of several months of connect underserved communities, and support intense effort to demonstrate the city’s ability to economic vitality. define and model a “smart city” that connects to Columbus was selected over six other finalists: the pulse of technology while also connecting that Austin, Denver, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Portland, technology to the pulse of the greater Columbus and San Francisco. community. Columbus is working to become the nation’s According to USDOT, the vision of the Smart epicenter for ITS research, development, and City Challenge is to demonstrate and evaluate a implementation. By focusing on implementing holistic, integrated approach to improving surface ITS, the City hopes to create opportunities transportation performance within a city. The for economic development and job creation goal is to show what is possible when emerging throughout the region and also to provide ladders data and intelligent transportation systems (ITS) of opportunity for residents to better access jobs, technologies and applications are integrated food, services, education, and recreation. with existing systems in a city to improve safety, enhance mobility, and address climate change. 1 EMH&T Engineers, Surveyors, Planners, Scientists One component of the City’s presentation is a people throughout the entire Easton area from the proposed innovative, automated transportation main mass transit access points (COTA bus stops) system within Easton, a 1,200 acre mixed-use to final destinations at the hundreds of employers destination in the northeast quadrant of the in the area. This is referred to as “last mile” transit. City. EMH&T’s thorough knowledge of Easton’s To demonstrate this, EMH&T developed a 3D infrastructure and relationships with Easton model of the proposed automated transportation developers made us the natural and integral system at Easton. partner for the City of Columbus in developing Utilizing Autodesk’s Infraworks 360 software, this part of their proposal. EMH&T transportation engineer Adam Burger, “As a civil engineering firm with a significant focus PE, developed a complete transportation model. on transportation and traffic engineering, we were This program is a powerful tool used for various excited to work with the City of Columbus and aspects of civil engineering infrastructure design to contribute to their proposal in pursuit of this ranging from transportation to site planning to grant,” said EMH&T President Sandy Doyle-Ahern. water analysis and design. The software provides many benefits related to planning, preliminary The Easton component of the City’s proposal engineering, design, and the management of focused on the development of an automated infrastructure projects. transportation system that uses driver-less vehicles. The proposed idea uses electric autonomous “Infraworks allows users to create infrastructure vehicles (EAVs) in the form of microbuses to move models from existing data sources, engineer in Adam Burger, PE, and Dan Schneider, PLS, developed this image taken from the video animating the automated vehicle. emht.com 2 context from the start, and generate models at application proposed for the Easton area, which various levels of detail,” said Adam. “It is a very helped to demonstrate just how the City would comprehensive tool for designing and modeling use the award money if selected. both existing and proposed concepts.” Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther expressed his Importantly, Infraworks is critical for design gratitude in a letter to EMH&T which read, in part, of roadways, bridges and other infrastructure “The 3D modeling really made the video stand components. “It allows us to show a range of design out. The U.S. Department of Transportation was so options conceptually by turning engineering impressed with it that they insisted we show it to data into images, even for design of the unseen all of the other applicants.” infrastructure that exists underground,” Adam “We were proud and honored to work with added. Columbus and contribute to this winning Adam worked closely with EMH&T landscape presentation,” said Sandy. “It was an excellent architect and modeler Dan Schneider. Dan is experience for us to create a model for the Easton an expert user of various software programs area that uses data, technology, and creativity to that allow users to create 3D images and add shape how people and goods are transported animations to those images. “Dan’s talent and skill and that has the potential to change the future of as a modeler allowed us to create photo-quality our community.” n images that communicated not only the intent of the proposed concepts at Easton, but also what US DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx they would actually look like if implemented,” said making the video announcement of Adam. the winner. Adam and Dan’s hard work allowed the judges to visualize the state-of-the-art transportation 3 EMH&T Engineers, Surveyors, Planners, Scientists EMH&T offers these imaging capabilities through our Columbus, Indianapolis, and Charlotte offices. “The 3D modeling really made the video stand out. The U.S. Department of Transportation was so impressed with it that they insisted we show it to all of the other applicants.” Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther emht.com 4 I-70/US40/SR331 interchange in Belmont County, Ohio REIMAGINING A COMPLEX INTERCHANGE “Knowing the District was fighting an uphill funding battle, we really tried to focus on cost-effective solutions to bring the overall project costs down.” Senior Project Manager Abby Cueva, PE 5 EMH&T Engineers, Surveyors, Planners, Scientists The I-70/US 40/SR 331 interchange area in Department of Transportation (ODOT) District 11, Belmont County, Ohio, had development on the EMH&T completed an in-depth study that led to horizon and was in need of improved operations, the ultimate solution.