Left to right: John Sanders, P.E., Matt Christensen, P.E., S.E., and Hans Erickson, P.E., S.E.

TKDA is pleased to announce the promotion of three long-time staff from our 11-member Bridge Group. John Sanders, Matthew Christensen, and Hans Erickson have been promoted to Senior Registered Engineer. The Bridge Group provides design services for a wide range of structures, including highway, pedestrian, and railroad bridges. TKDA leadership selected these individuals based on their exemplary skills and outstanding job performance. Together they have completed hundreds of bridge projects across the United States.

Mr. Sanders joined TKDA in 1988 and has served as a Project Manager and lead Design Engineer for BNSF Railway Company bridge rehabilitations and bridge rebuilds at more than 295 sites in 16 states. His current projects include multiple rail bridge replacements and rehabilitations across the BNSF system.

Mr. Christensen has over 12 years of experience in structural analysis, design, and plan preparation for bridge structures, as well as specialty structures. His bridge design experience covers most types of highway, pedestrian, and railroad bridges. Areas of special expertise are seismic design and the design of post-tensioned concrete bridge structures.

Mr. Erickson has over 11 years of experience in structural analysis, design, and plan preparation for bridge structures, as well as specialty structures. His bridge design experience covers most types of highway, pedestrian, and railroad bridges. Areas of special expertise are the design of steel plate girder bridges (straight and curved), and the design of fatigue-resistant details. He is also certified as a Team Leader for bridge safety inspections in the State of Minnesota.

Both Mr. Christensen and Mr. Erickson have been key team members in a number of high-profile, fast-track design-build projects, such as the I-35W St. Anthony Falls Bridge, TH 13 and CR 101 Interchange in Savage, Elk Run Interchange near Rochester, and TH 169/494 Interchange in Eden Prairie.

The evolution of downtown Saint Paul continues to take shape in advance of the light rail’s arrival. While trains won’t run on the line until 2014, several other projects are underway or already complete. In order to make room for a new light rail station, the Bremer Bank building was demolished this summer and a new skyway was constructed to span across the new space. TKDA managed both the demolition of the building and the construction of the new skyway, which opened in November. The station, located at 5th and Cedar Street, is still under construction and will be the last stop on the line before reaching Saint Paul’s Union Depot. The original Depot was structurally engineered by TKDA in 1917 and the restoration team includes TKDA.

The video below shows a timelapse of the Bremer Bank demolition and the erection of the new skyway.

TKDA water resources expert, Patrick McLarnon, P.H., presented a poster documenting the first use of partially grouted riprap in the State of Minnesota. The poster was presented at the University of Minnesota sponsored Water Resources Conference in October.

Retired TKDA architect and travel enthusiast Bill Armstrong, AIA, recently completed his term on the State Designer Selection Board. Read about his travels in this month’s issue of Architecture MN.

Over 25% of TKDA’s staff take mass transportation to work at the firm’s five offices throughout the nation. That fact helped convince the company to relocate their Illinois office earlier this year to a location one block from the Metra stop in Downers Grove. The move will also reduce commute times for staff and aid in future recruiting from the metro Chicago area. TKDA President, Vincent Montgomery, contributed to an article on MinnPost.com this week on the current state of transportation funding in Minnesota.

TKDA recently awarded their first annual scholarship to help fund the education of a University of Minnesota student pursuing a degree in engineering or architecture. The endowed scholarship was established in 2010, during the company’s centennial year, to invest in the future of the engineering and architecture industry. In a partnership with the University, TKDA’s annual gift is matched by the President’s Scholarship Match. The value of each year’s scholarship will fluctuate with market returns.

The TKDA Engineering and Architecture Scholarship Fund will be awarded to students of different colleges within the University of Minnesota on a three year rotational basis. During the first two years, the scholarship will be given to an engineering student from the College of Science and Engineering. On every third year, the scholarship will go to an architecture student within the College of Design.

The first recipient of the TKDA scholarship is a mechanical engineering student from Stacy, Minnesota. She is a freshman at the University of Minnesota and plans to use her degree to become an automotive engineer. The scholarship will help the recipient offset the rising costs of a college education which she self-finances with limited aid.

“We are very pleased to inaugurate our scholarship program,” says Bill Deitner, TKDA’s CEO. “The University of Minnesota is a world-class institution that develops extremely talented engineers and architects. The College has chosen a very deserving first recipient and we look forward to watching her career unfold at the University of Minnesota.”

TKDA is proud to be a sponsor of Liquids Assets Minnesota, a documentary that will air on Twin Cities Public Television on Sunday, December 4, from 8 to 9pm.

This program explores concerns about Minnesota’s aging water infrastructure. Many drinking water systems, sanitary sewers and storm sewers throughout the state are rapidly approaching the end of their useful life, so communities of all sizes are trying to come up with ways to replace these vital utilities that are routinely taken for granted. Communities around the state are featured to demonstrate how each of them are grappling with the task of maintaining a high quality standard of water in this time of tight budgets. The documentary is co-produced by TPT, Central States Water Environment Association-Minnesota Section, and the Minnesota Chapter of the APWA.

You can view a clip from Liquid Assets Minnesota here.

Rob O’Connell, P.E., and Jennifer Nelson.

Demonstrating its commitment to providing Water and Wastewater services, professional services firm TKDA has added Robert O’Connell, P.E., and Jennifer Nelson to its team. TKDA recently hired a number of staff to grow and diversify these engineering services to public and private clients.

Mr. O’Connell is a Wastewater Engineer who brings over 15 years of experience working on wastewater treatment plants, interceptor projects, and lift stations, as well as providing engineering services for facility plans and infrastructure management. He has provided services for municipalities and regional clients throughout the Midwest and has worked on several interceptor projects for the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services. He is a registered engineer in Minnesota and Wisconsin. He received a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering from Wentworth Institute of Technology.

Ms. Nelson, a Graduate Wastewater Engineer, bolsters TKDA’s knowledge in the latest computer modeling techniques, nutrient removal, and small community system designs. Nelson has prepared permit applications, bidding and contract documents, and facility plans and reports, and is familiar with USDA Rural Development requirements. She is a recent graduate of South Dakota State University, where she received both a Master and Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering.

“We have seen a significant increase in demand for water and wastewater services recently,” says Christopher Bryan, P.E., Manager of TKDA’s Water/Wastewater Group. “We are strategically matching the specialized skills of our new team members to meet our clients’ needs. As our clients expand and upgrade their water and wastewater facilities to meet increasing regulatory and customer requirements, our engineering teams are prepared to assist them with planning, design and construction services.”

TKDA’s Brian Kelley (fifth from left), Brian Fitzgerald (second from right) and Dean Johnson (far right) at the groundbreaking ceremony.

Saint Paul College will be conducting groundbreaking ceremonies today to celebrate the commencement of construction on their new parking ramp. The facility will be the first parking structure to be built on the Saint Paul College campus, which sits aside the Saint Paul Cathedral atop Cathedral Hill, overlooking downtown Saint Paul. The parking ramp is being designed by an engineering and architecture team, led by TKDA, which also includes Walker Parking Consultants and Koski Architecture. Knutson Construction is building the ramp which is scheduled for completion by the start of the 2012 fall semester.

With a rapidly expanding student body, the facility will provide much needed parking relief and allow for the conversion of its current surface lots into future campus expansion projects and green space. Phase I of the project will implement 600 parking stalls over four levels and will be nestled into the hillside of the College’s site. It will consolidate much of the campus’s parking spaces into a single structure and is designed to accommodate future lateral and vertical parking expansion as the student body continues to grow. Sustainable design components of the project will include use of LED lighting and electric car charging stations.

“Saint Paul College is a great asset to our community,” says TKDA’s Education Group Manager, Brian Kelley. “TKDA is proud to be a partner in this project that will free up valuable real estate for the college as they strive to meet their long-term goals.”

A unique feature of the groundbreaking ceremony will acknowledge the recent centennials of three of the participating partners in the project. TKDA, Knutson Construction and Saint Paul College all reached their 100th year of operation within the last year.

TKDA engineers and staff recently met with staff from Three Rivers Park District on the Medicine Lake Regional Trail. The team rode the trail to kick off a rehabilitation project for the trail that will commence soon.