VOLUME 12 ISSUE 1 2015 IN THIS ISSUE 1 6 14 Proactive Prevention Storm Crossing Prepared for “The Big One” A history of preparing our STV helps transportation New airport transportation center clients against future disasters systems weather future floods serves as command center for emergency operations VOLUME 12 ISSUE 1 2015 table of contents STV GROUP 205 West Welsh Drive Douglassville, PA 19518 t. 610-385-8200 PROACTIVE f. 610-385-8500 STV INCORPORATED 225 Park Avenue South PREVENTION New York, NY 10003 A History of Preparing Our t. 212-777-4400 1 6 10 f. 212-529-5237 Clients Against Future Disasters [email protected] www.stvinc.com EDITORIAL BOARD Dominick M. Servedio, P.E. As a firm that values itself for emphasizing client Executive Chairman responsiveness, STV and its predecessors have a long- Milo E. Riverso, Ph.D., P.E., CCM established track record for quickly, decisively and effectively President & 14 18 28 Chief Executive Officer providing a full range of planning, design, construction management and environmental services for a host of Linda Rosenberg Senior Vice President 1 14 project types that have been impacted, or may be potentially Marketing & Communications Proactive Prevention Prepared for “The Big One” affected, by both natural and manmade disasters. A history of preparing our clients against New airport transportation facility serves as Richard M. Amodei future disasters command center for emergency operations Senior Vice President MANAGING EDITORS 6 18 In the days following Superstorm ing solutions in New York and New Debra Trace Sandy, which ravaged the East Coast Jersey designed to protect and prevent Jill Bonamusa Storm Crossing New Coast Guard Facility STV helps transportation systems weather Meets Enhanced Safety & of the United States in 2012, STV’s catastrophic damage in the likely event EDITOR-IN-CHIEF future floods Structural Standards multidisciplinary team provided emer- of a future emergency. And beyond the Mark Ginocchio Helping the USCG rebuild in the Gulf gency services to our clients hit hardest tri-state area, STV is providing design Coast Region in New York and New Jersey. Despite and construction management services CONTRIBUTORS 10 the fact that much of STV’s own for clients who are proactively strategiz- Rachel Spevack Homecoming for Housing Complexes STV provides design and construction 22 resources were limited by the storm’s ing against all kinds of natural disasters. GRAPHIC DESIGN management services for vital housing What’s New at STV impact in the tri-state region, the quick Whitney Plant developments More information about STV’s award- thinking of the firm’s employees aided The breadth of services being provided winning projects, exciting new hires and the expedited rehabilitation and reopen- is just the latest chapter in the firm’s philanthropic initiatives 12 ing of buildings and infrastructure that more than 100-year history of striving Flood Mitigation Solutions Studied function as the lifeblood of the com- to be client focused and quality driven For Illinois Village 28 munity: schools, health care facilities, at every level of the organization. Over STV collaborates with multiple stakeholders A More Diversified Approach to housing and transportation systems. the years, STV and its predecessors have for storm resiliency project Construction Management successfully revitalized buildings and New acquisition augments STV’s Construction Now, as a result of STV’s response to transportation infrastructure throughout Management Division 13 Sandy’s immediate aftermath, the firm North America, addressing the impacts Supporting Schools is developing various forward think- of storms, floods, fires and earthquakes. STV provides a range of services for New York City schools CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE 2 stv | ink stv | ink 1 “ Our performance at North Station demonstrated our ability to get the job done very quickly and efficiently on a fast-track basis, which helped us move on to other major projects in the Boston area and throughout the rest of the United States.” MARK PELLETIER, P.E. STV vice president & Boston office manager Boston North Station trestle HISTORICALLY BUILDING A FOUNDATION ON DISASTER RESPONSE After the Northridge Earthquake, Just five years after STV’s earliest fore- saturated the land and several river was well positioned to respond quickly STV assisted in the restoration of basis, which helped us move on to other and then expanding the system to meet runner, Elwyn E. Seelye & Co., opened valleys. As part of the state’s massive and efficiently when disaster struck Metrolink service by designing major projects in the Boston area and the needs of commuters by providing new temporary stations to meet its doors, the up-and-coming engineer- flood recovery program, SSV&K North Station. commuter needs. throughout the rest of the United States.” design and construction management ing firm provided emergency structural provided design services for more than services for two new rail stations. design services for one of New York 40 different bridges throughout the In January 1984, a six-alarm fire About a decade after the North Station City’s most iconic structures. In 1917, state. SSV&K’s flood response design destroyed a critical wooden trestle incident, STV played a critical role “We put together a team that was out at two major fires partially destroyed New work helped lay a cornerstone for what bridge, cutting off commuter rail service in restoring commuter rail service in 4 a.m. the morning after the earthquake York City Hall, a National Historic would become STV’s longest-tenured into the station for more than 13,000 Southern California in the aftermath of inspecting any existing track that could Landmark that first opened more than branch office in Milford, CT. daily riders. On the night of the inci- the Northridge Earthquake, one of the be used for rail service,” said Brewerton 100 years earlier in 1810. Grosvenor dent, SSV&K’s engineers arrived at the deadliest and costliest natural disasters Clarke, STV senior vice president. “Our Atterbury, a prominent architect and GETTING MAJOR RAIL TRANSPORTATION scene and immediately began providing in U.S. history. people went out into the field and urban planner in the 19th and 20th SYSTEMS UP AND RUNNING fast-track services for the design and designed and oversaw the construction centuries, performed design services Today, STV is a renowned leader in construction of a new bridge. Northridge had one of the highest of those two new stations in two weeks.” that restored the structure’s dome and providing planning, design and con- ground accelerations and ground velocity tower, while Seelye was contracted to struction management services for major Out of the ashes of this disaster came rates ever recorded in North America. ASSISTING THE REBUILDING OF provide structural engineering. It was passenger and freight rail initiatives a new and improved structure that was Additionally, the quake caused more THE SOUTHEAST the first of many landmark structures across North America, but this practice completed within 15 months. To help than $20 billion in property damage, Over the past decade, the Gulf Coast Seelye and its successor, Seelye was built, in part, on the firm’s expedient safeguard the bridge against future fires, including the destruction of vital roads and Southeastern U.S. have been bat- Stevenson Value & Knecht (SSV&K) response to a pair of disasters affecting it was constructed almost entirely of and bridges which pushed motorists to tered by catastrophic storms, including supported via engineering design. two major transportation systems. precast concrete with a ballasted deck. Metrolink, the commuter rail service Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Ike and that had only launched two years earlier. Irene. These storms have shuttered Years later, some of SSV&K’s earliest STV’s role in reshaping Boston’s mas- “The design was selected with resiliency major cities and decimated vital highway/bridge design initiatives came sive North Station into a multimodal and fire prevention in mind,” said STV was instrumental in bringing infrastructure, necessitating a massive in response to the Connecticut Flood hub for rapid transit, trolley and com- Mark Pelletier, P.E., STV vice president Metrolink to the region, serving as the rebuilding and future storm resiliency of 1955. Considered one of the worst muter rail systems, was one of the and Boston office manager. “Our perfor- general engineering consultant in joint effort across hundreds of communities floods in state history, Connecticut suf- firm’s first commissions in Beantown mance at North Station demonstrated venture. Hours after Northridge hit, throughout the region. fered more than $200 million (in 1955 in the early 1980s. And because of the our ability to get the job done very STV was tasked with getting Metrolink CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE figures) of damages after two hurricanes firm’s familiarity with the hub, STV quickly and efficiently on a fast-track up and running as quickly as possible 2 stv | ink stv | ink 3 STV’s strong engineering presence in design was finished in 10 days. The entire Inlet Bridge. STV/RWA was contracted the Southeast has enabled the firm to 10,000-foot-long structure was open to by the North Carolina Department of “ The prevailing wisdom is that it’s simply not support a broad range of clients located rail traffic again in February 2006. Transportation to design a substructure enough to only repair what’s been damaged, but within these active storm and flood system to support a new 664-foot, to develop solutions that either prevent or lessen zones, earning accolades along the way “It was an extraordinary effort, but we five-span bridge. for its quickness and decisiveness. rose to the challenge and were able to the extent of future damage.” meet the client’s needs,” said Bill White, Due to the critical nature of this project, KENT TURNER, AIA, NCARB As Hurricane Katrina made its final P.E., a project manager and senior engi- the team worked extended shifts STV senior vice president landfall at Bay St.