Cover illustration
TECHNOLOGY
Visualizing Success: BIM@CHA
• Industry Insight
Water Matters
• Featured Projects
Pillar of Excellence Sector Winners
• The Road Ahead:
IIJA Invests in Transportation
Infrastructure
• Javan Engineering joins CHA
• Health & Safety
Beware of this Common Biological Hazard
Water is a fundamental resource needed by every individual and community. The many water challenges confronting us today are complex, pressing, expensive, and evolving. From flooding and stormwater management to adequate access to clean water, to identifiable contamination and replacement of lead pipes, water — or lack thereof — poses risks to the environment, infrastructure, neighborhoods and commercial districts, farmers and our food supply, and public health. At times we have too much water and sometimes there isn’t enough clean water to meet our needs. Regardless of the challenge, we can develop sustainable solutions to protect and maintain this vital resource.
Climate impacts including more severe weather events and repeated large storms affecting the same areas over and over are causing disruptions to daily life, damaging transportation routes, flooding homes and businesses, and threatening important wastewater infrastructure. Flooding can also result in combined sewer overflow (CSO) running into rivers and streams. Communities are addressing these challenges with a variety of solutions from employing “SMART Water” technology to building infrastructure with elements in place to handle overflows during high water events thereby mitigating flooding and damage.
Elio R. Espino, Ph.D., PE, Traffic and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Business Practice Leader, has joined the Departmental Advisory Board for Florida International University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. More than 1,000 undergraduate and about 150 graduate students are enrolled in this premiere department at Miami’s leading public research university. Read more
Access to clean water is essential, yet some communities struggle to provide this basic necessity. A lack of clean water is especially prevalent in lower income communities with aging infrastructure and/ or underfunded treatment and distribution facilities. Funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) will play a big role over the next five years as communities tap into available funding to address some of their most pressing clean water infrastructure needs.
Water contamination is yet another concern we are facing. Media reports now warn us that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) or manufactured “forever chemicals” are have been found in drinking water. In June 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a new advisory that even tiny amounts of some PFAS chemicals found in drinking water may pose health risks. Removing PFAS from drinking water will take a significant investment in clean-up technologies and comprehensive strategies to restrict the use of PFAS. The EPA’s infusion of annual
funds makes now the time to start planning these transformational projects.
Most lead exposure occurs due to water coming into contact with lead pipes, faucets, and other plumbing fixtures. Lead service lines (LSLs), or pipes that connect homes to water mains, are more common in older cities and homes, specifically those built before 1986. The Safe Drinking Water Act Lead Ban in 1986 resulted in a shift to copper, galvanized steel or PVC pipe, but unfortunately, millions of LSLs still exist today and need to be replaced. Communities across the country are taking inventory of their lead service lines to prioritize and plan for replacement.
CHA’s water resources team is on the front lines, working with communities to address these challenges with sustainable, multi-faceted approaches. We know there are solutions that can work for communities big and small, and we’re optimistic these solutions will protect our most vital resource, water.
54-inch HDPE Redundant Bypass Force Main Horizontal Directional Drill
Fort Lauderdale, FL
In December 2019, the City of Fort Lauderdale’s wastewater system suffered a catastrophic failure of its primary force main, which delivered the city’s wastewater flows to the George T. Lohmeyer Treatment Plant. This failure was followed by several other failures and breaks in the aging sewer system. Over 211 million gallons of raw sewage were spilled into area waterways.
The sewer spill was devastating for the Fort Lauderdale community, and particularly for the city’s waterways and environmentally sensitive areas. CHA’s team was prepared to tackle the enormous scope of this project which included installation of 38,000 linear feet of 48” and 54” HDPE pipe using horizontal directional drill technology. Sections were drilled under a golf course and crossed three waterways without environmental or public disruption. The high profile nature of this project resulted in considerable public involvement at all stages. The project also required a rigorous permitting process involving 11 jurisdictional agencies, including several environmental
agencies. Segmental certification was also required to activate and allow city use of the installed force main as quickly as possible. Due to the nature of design/build delivery and project emergency status, our team was extremely flexible and ready to take on any scope changes requested by the city or as demanded by emerging field conditions.
Completed in just 18 months, the extremely expedited design and installation of the thousands of linear feet of bypass force main ensured that the City of Fort Lauderdale’s wastewater infrastructure was restored and protected against future failure and system interruption.
Mt. Ararat School
Topsham, ME
Opened in 2020, the new Mt. Ararat High School is a ubiquitous learning environment within Maine School Administrative District 75, serving approximately 750 students in grades 9 – 12. Citizens, students, and families from the communities of Topsham, Harpswell, Bowdoin, and Bowdoinham were involved in an extensive community planning process to create a place where students would feel comfortable and could consider a second home. Built on the existing campus, Mt. Ararat High School continues its relationship with the middle school on a central site with abundant natural features.
The 150,000-square-foot building is organized around a hub of spaces critical to the established culture of Mt. Ararat High School. The spaces house programs such as the Digital Media Makerspace, Robotics Makerspace, Learning Commons, Student Affairs offices, Main Administration, and Dining Commons. The school boasts extensive energyefficient features such as a closed-loop geothermal heating and cooling system, increased insulation, triple-glazed windows, roof structure reinforcement for future PV
panels, solar hot water preheating, snow melt systems, and highly durable finish materials.
Three primary wings intersect at a centrally located and secure main entry lobby. The classroom wings radiating from the lobby contain a diverse variety of spaces, including 40 small and large classrooms, 9 science labs, makerspaces, a forum lecture hall, a learning commons, art rooms, and seminar rooms. A public main street traverses the school building from the main lobby, connecting the entry to a light-filled cafeteria, band and choral rooms, and the 17,000-square-foot gymnasium and fitness rooms. A competition track, multi-purpose fields, baseball field, and competition field concessions building are all part of the school’s overall athletic program. Numerous special education spaces, special education professionals, and social workers are distributed throughout the building to promote the inclusion of all students. Informal seating areas and breakout spaces within the building promote casual encounters and informal meetings.
Dorey Park Baseball Stadium in Henrico County, Virginia, and the Abingdon Sportsplex in Abingdon, Virginia, earned Merit Awards from ACEC Virginia. These state-of-the-art sports venues serve local and traveling teams, support community recreation needs, and drive sports tourism. Read more
CHA recently managed the remediation of a site that represented an eyesore to a close-knit community and a continued threat to the environment, including a historic canal. This important project considered environmental impacts, community outreach, removal of contaminants, mitigating record rainfall during construction, and enduring respect for the historic canal, which needed to maintain operational locks at all times.
Contamination of the site included polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) and required a highly coordinated effort between CHA, the contractor and the canal operating agency. The project also included
an innovative hydraulic study to determine if nearby locks could safely operate and prevent flooding.
Strong community outreach by CHA eased community concerns and educated the public to the project safety measures. CHA also provided community air monitoring to identify potential airborne exposures to contaminants and worked to mitigate dust, vapors, and odors from excavations using innovative foam sprays and conventional water application. The project included the removal of more than 16,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment and soils, which needed to be dewatered and stabilized before off-site transportation.
CHA has received a 2023 ACEC Connecticut Engineering Excellence Award for relocating the I-91 Northbound Interchange 29 and widening of I-91 Northbound and Route 5/15 Northbound to I-84 Eastbound. The reconfigured interchange reduces crash rates and resolves long-term congestion in the Hartford area.
Read more
The art and science of visually representing a proposed structure continue to thrive today as an art form and a technical subset of architectural and engineering design. Design visualization is critical in communicating the aesthetics, mass, function, and meaning of a conceptual or final design per an owner’s requirements and intent. While any visualization technology can generate stunning computer-generated imagery, its true power is unleashed when paired with Building Information Modeling (BIM).
CHA’s technical teams use BIM daily on hundreds of projects to efficiently create and manage information for built assets. BIM is a cloud-based intelligent modeling system that integrates multi-disciplinary data to develop detailed digital representations of the physical and functional characteristics of buildings and infrastructure.
BIM can secure a place on almost any project for good reason. Enhanced visualization and improved conflict detection facilitate quick coordination among disciplines and rapid feedback from owners, whether for the design of a small-scale structure or a complex facility. For example, CHA recently created realistic renderings and a flyby animation for the New York State Office of General Services, utilizing a combination of advanced BIM technologies such as AutoDesk Revit, Navisworks, and Lumion.
A recent edition of The Zweig Letter, a leading publication serving the A/E industry, included a profile of CEO Jim Stephenson, chronicling his leadership at CHA, his vision for serving our industry, and how developing a strong company culture that focuses on people is the key to our success.
Read more
BIM’s full potential is realized when combined with other visualization technologies. Drones can capture high-quality aerial images and videos of construction sites, which can then be imported into BIM software to create detailed 3D models and maps. Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are other emerging tools that have become increasingly popular in the context of Revit collaboration. With AR, 3D models can be overlaid onto a real-world environment using an iPad or tablet computer. With VR, users can immerse themselves in a wholly digital environment using VR headsets like the Meta Quest 2. When paired with collaboration platforms like AutoDesk’s The Wild, VR and AR technologies enable remote teams to collaborate in shared virtual spaces and allow stakeholders to better engage with proposed structures.
For more information, contact Arjun Singh,
CHA is already seeing the advantages of employing these cutting-edge technologies on pilot projects, which benefit from increased efficiency, more informed decision-making, and fewer errors. We are also exploring the integration of BIM and 3D printing to create physical models of digital designs, allowing architects and engineers to analyze designs in a tangible form and identify areas for improvement. With the ability to share and manipulate every project aspect across multiple disciplines in a single location, BIM and visualization technologies have transformed the way projects are designed and built. When used together, these advanced tools promote consistency, improve efficiency, and ultimately lead to exceptional results.
Manager of Design Technology, at asingh@chacompanies.comNEWS: CHA Runway Project Earns 2023 ACEC Ohio Honor Award
The Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport Apron B Reconstruction and Apron C Rehabilitation earned an Honor Award in ACEC Ohio’s 2023 Engineering Excellence Awards. This general aviation airfield is a crucial take-off and landing point for North Central Ohio, the Mansfield Lahm Air National Guard, and NASA. Read more
Since the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) was enacted in November 2021 – providing more than $1 trillion in funding to improve essential infrastructure in the transportation, power and grid, aviation, environmental remediation, and water sectors –CHA has been monitoring the situation and stands ready to respond. The act is expected to create hundreds of thousands of jobs over the next five years and bring much-needed investment to the country’s core aging infrastructure.
We’re excited to announce the release of CHA’s IIJA Transportation White Paper, which discusses IIJA funding to build, repair and reinvigorate infrastructure that has been deteriorating for decades. With this historic investment, we can change our communities for the better.
With decades of experience, we will bring your IIJA-funded projects and programs to a successful completion with our inspired employees, forwardleaning technology, and essential partnerships.
Watch for more as funding and action on the IIJA rolls out over the next few months and years. Investing in infrastructure is investing in our future, and CHA is ready to be a part of that.
Keith Ziobron, PE, has rejoined CHA as Brownfields Program Manager to lead CHA’s growing brownfield remediation and redevelopment program. Staff additions in the southeast and northeast have added inhouse expertise to the program. Services associated with the program include environmental assessment, remediation design, grant application development, grant writing, site cleanup and reuse planning, regulatory agency negotiations, and economic development planning.
Read more
CHA Holdings. “The Javan team brings unique breadth and depth in life sciences/pharmaceuticals, biotech, chemical, and other industrial/specialized manufacturing facilities. CHA has similar existing clients who will benefit tremendously from these expanded capabilities. With increasing investment and demand for domestic manufacturing and continued growth in pharma, life sciences and semiconductors, we see great opportunities to serve our clients and to be a leader in this market.”
CHA announced it has acquired Javan Engineering, a full-service engineering firm serving the industrial, chemical, pharmaceutical, biotech, healthcare, and university markets. Javan Engineering is based in greater Philadelphia, PA, with 200 employees. Javan’s core engineering services include process, electrical, instrumentation & controls, automation reliability, process safety management (PSM), asset management, equipment maintenance, and project management services. The firm has offices in Fort Washington and Lansdale, PA, as well as Raleigh, NC.
“Javan Engineering is a significant and exciting addition that provides an expanded platform for CHA to offer best-in-class multi-discipline engineering services, project management and asset management capabilities, positioning us for strategic growth in key advanced manufacturing markets,” said Jim Stephenson, CEO of
Javan Engineering CEO Moses Javan said, “ We are passionate about our work and differentiate ourselves with deep expertise, while being responsive to our clients’ needs. Our growth and performance have excelled because of our long-tenured-trusted relationships with blue-chip clients. CHA is a great cultural and strategic fit for Javan. The long history of exceptional client retention, service, and innovation, makes the joining of our firms a natural match, benefiting both our clients and employees. We have significant opportunities ahead as we expand our offerings with the collaboration of our two talented teams. We are very much looking forward to continuing to serve our clients safely and with the greater capabilities of our two firms.”
The addition of Javan Engineering brings CHA’s staff count to over 1,700 in 50 offices from Canada to Florida to the Midwest. Javan Engineering will be rebranded as Javan Engineering, A CHA Company, effective immediately.
Phillip (Phil) W. Stevens, Ph.D., PE, P.Eng., F.ASCE, has joined CHA as Senior Vice President and Transportation Business Line Director. He most recently served as Senior Vice President of Transportation for EXP U.S. Services Inc.
Read more
Disease-carrying ticks live throughout the contiguous United States, especially in warm and humid climates. Climatic factors impact their growth, so rainy and warm weather in May might indicate a more robust tick season in your area.
Spending time working outdoors could put you and your pets in close contact with ticks. Following tickbite prevention guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) can help minimize your risk of exposure to disease-carrying ticks:
• Know where to expect ticks. Ticks live in grassy, brushy, and wooded areas and on animals. Minimize brushing up against vegetation when outdoors
• Pre-treat clothing and gear with products containing 0.5% permethrin
• For exposed skin, use EPA-registered insect repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus, para-menthane-diol, or 2-undecanone
• How to dress in grassy, brushy, or wooded areas:
Wear long, light-colored pants and shirts
Tuck shirts into pants and pants into socks
Use tick gaiters to seal off pants and boots
• Check your body, clothing, and gear frequently throughout the day and after being outdoors. Check under arms, in and around ears, inside the belly button, behind knees, groin area, around the waist, feet, hairline, and scalp. Remove an embedded tick as soon as possible. Using a tick key or fine-tipped tweezers, get as close to the tick’s head as possible, pull up slightly, and wait for the tick to detach naturally
In most cases, a tick must be attached for 36 to 48 hours or more before the Lyme disease bacterium can be transmitted
Wash tick bites with soap and water after removing the tick
• Shower soon after being outdoors
• Separate, launder, and dry clothing on high heat immediately
• Consider landscaping tips to reduce tick populations:
Clear tall grasses and brush around buildings
Place a 3-foot-wide barrier of wood chips or gravel between lawns and wooded areas
For more information, contact Anthony Tremblay, Director of Corporate Health & Safety, at atremblay@chacompanies.com
Learn more about tick bite prevention and tick-borne diseases:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tick-borne Diseases of the United States. U.S. OSHA Factsheet: Reducing the Risk of Worker Exposure to Disease-Carrying Tick U.S. CDC Information on Regions Where Ticks Live. National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health: A Review of Ticks in Canada and Health Risks from Exposure. Photo Freepik.com
