A Pile of News: October 2024

A briefing on news and information from the pile driving contractors, associated manufacturers, construction suppliers and affiliated engineers who comprise PDCA.

By Matt Bisbee, PDCA

Originally sent Oct. 1, 2024

Top of the Pile

• Piling materials, presidential politics, national security are all impacted by a pending sale of U.S. Steel to Japanese-based Nippon Steel. A federal oversight body delayed action in the matter until after November's election. Both POTUS candidates oppose the sale, but the arbitration board has approved it and opinion-shapers support it: Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, National Review, Washington Examiner.
• Key Bridge rebuild to begin in 2025  Kiewit Infrastructure is the progressive design-builder to replace the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. The Maryland Transportation Authority approved a $73M contract for phase 1. Work is expected to start in early '25 with an anticipated bridge reopening in fall '28. The community is still reeling following the tragic March '24 collapse.
• This is a story that needs to be told time and again  A recent Texas Pile, LLC project in San Marcos was originally conceived as one to use a driven pile alternative. However, pre-production test piling revealed that substantial cost and time savings (16 weeks/$5.6M) could be realized by a shift to driven piling. Collaboration for the pivot involved Texas Pile, GRL Engineers and Atlas Tube. PDCA promotes that every foundation project strives toward this goal when a driven pile is the most appropriate solution. Read the case study.
• Time is running out  have you updated your member account on The PDCA Connection to ensure your data is accurately listed in the 2025 Membership Directory? Click here to be redirected.
• Welcome, new members! PDCA thanks the following companies and individuals who joined the organization in Q3-2024. You more effectively advocate for the driven pile when you join the only organization that collectively agrees, "A Driven Pile...Is a Tested Pile..."
  • Contractor: Sargent in Orono, ME
  • Associates: Bell Lumber & Pole Company in Minneapolis, MN; Expander Body International (EBI) Inc. in Ottawa, ON; Edgen Murray Corporation in Houston, TX
  • Academic employee: Don Warrington of Lee University in Tennessee
  • Government employees: Mir Zaheer from IN-DOT; Miranda Perkins from LA-DOTD; Scott Kassel and Kyle Markel from IL-DOT; Sourav Das from Imperial House (India)
  • Student: Samir Paswan from Lalit Narayan Mithila University (India). John Loehr from Auburn University.

From the Association & Chapters

Mark your calendars:

• Oct. 710: DFI Annual Conference, Aurora, CO; PDCA is a cooperating organization
• Oct. 10: Value Driven Webinar Series, 2 PM, EDT (virtual)  Introduction to Sheet Pile Design: Concepts, Computation, and Tools, presented by Dave Chapman from Blakeslee Arpaia Chapman
• Oct. 24: Mountain State Meet-Up, Salt Lake City, 5:30-7:30 PM  held in conjunction with EDPI
• Oct. 2324 Engineers Driven Pile Institute (EDPI), Doubletree, Downtown Salt Lake City, UT: designed for mid-level engineers, 15 PDH available, sponsorship opportunities for benefactors
• Nov. 6: Northeast Chapter Dinner Meeting & Casino Night in Newark, NJ  Attend this chapter meeting and stick around for some gaming. It's the last event for 2024!
• Nov. 68: Deep Foundations Dynamic Testing & Analysis (DFDTA) in Cleveland, OH  This workshop/seminar is from Pile Dynamics, Inc./PDCA; it concludes with a PDA proficiency test.
• Nov. 14: South Carolina Chapter Dinner Meeting and Scholarship Award, Charleston, SC The last meeting of 2024 features presentation of the Nigels Scholarship to a Citadel cadet.
• Nov. 21: Virginia Regional Networking Reception  More info coming soon!!

From the piledrivers.org blog:

• Texas Chapter members and friends teed-off for the second annual golf tournament on Sept. 24 in Mont Belvieu.
• Northeast Chapter Sporting Clays Scholarship Shoot brought dozens of sportsmen and women to a unique Pennsylvania course. See who was SPOTTED at the popular event.
• DICEP attendees heard a series of impactful technical presentations in Chicago. The conference included the Windy City Wine Down networking reception for industry friends in Chicagoland.
• Checking in from the road  PDCA takes a pile drive and drops in on members in California, Minnesota. Who did we see?

Congratulations, Tomas Cabrera, you are this month's winner! Send an email to marian@piledrivers.org before the end of the month to claim your prize!

News from PDCA Companies

Giving back:

• Bechtel partnered with NSBE in support of Summer Engineering Experience for Kids, a STEM program offered in Houston, Washington, D.C. and virtually. The free, three-week program introduced engineering professions through fun and engaging activities to third, fourth and fifth graders.
• D.A. Collins Companies, like many PDCA members, prioritizes staff appreciation. It ends each September with an employee party and fireworks show at its company HQ. Neighbors don't mind and are invited to enjoy the pyrotechnics from their off-campus vantage points.
• Hawaiian Dredging Construction Company is part of a program that empowers educators at high schools with a better understanding of the construction industry in order to give them insights and experiences to pass along to students considering various career paths. Ryder Coelho, Henry Tuquero and Kuuipo Banao are the participating company reps.
• MEB dispatched recruiting staff to VA-Tech to coach students in the construction department on resume and elevator pitch development. The visit preceded their participation in an upcoming career fair. It's unclear if the students "walk in" to the engagements to Enter Sandman.

Recruiters from MEB serve as coaches to VA Tech students 

Government relations:

• The Walsh Group hosted Virginia Gov. Youngkin at its I-81 highway widening project near Salem. The job site became the state's first in nearly 30 years to receive an OSHA STAR award.
• H&H is the lead engineer for a new Amtrak bridge in southeastern Connecticut. The firm was present when Amtrak, Gov. Lamont, U.S. Sens. Blumenthal and Murphy, and U.S. Rep. Courtney and others broke ground for the $1.3B project that will involve H-pile installation.
• Bull Moose Tube hosted Lord Paul, its parent company founder, at some U.S. facilities. The British magnate & philanthropist won a lifetime P.M. appointment to the House of Lords in '96.

Acquisitions & expansions:

• Beard Construction Group, based in the Baton Rouge area, is finishing work on a second location in Luling, on the western side of New Orleans. The firm says the expansion grows their geographic reach with piling services and more in the state's southernmost communities. 
• Island Piling, Inc., a beachfront foundation installer in SW Florida, pivots to air hammers with its purchase of a PileMaster 5000, to alleviate overspray concerns and boost environmental stewardship. VP Kena Yoke says geotechs can now diversify their job site apparel.
• Geo-Technology Associates, Inc. (GTA) enters the Pittsburgh market under the guidance of VP Randy Daub, P.E., who oversees all operations in the region. Tyler Furr is branch manager.

Recognitions:

• Cajun Industries, LLC celebrates its seven crew members who passed tough written and practical exams and earned national accreditation through the NCCCO lattice boom class.
• McCarthy Building Cos. won the Best Project Award in Specialty Construction from ENR. The Port of Beaumont Main Street Terminal 1 finished in May, well ahead of schedule.
• Infrastructure Consulting & Engineering aims to change the culture for Columbia, SC, motorists through its work on a built solution to Malfunction Junction (I-20/I-26). The project earned coverage in an update from Lexington Life magazine, complete with job site photos.
• Tolunay-Wong Engineers was awarded by the Safety Council of Southwest Louisiana. 

Transitions:

• Sean Vandedrinck elevates to regional director at the East Coast offices of Russell Marine.
• Bob Page earned a reputation as one of the most skilled off-road truck drivers in history at Sargent. He started 27 years ago as a laborer on a New Hampshire job and has now retired.
• Mac Rotan moves up at Apex Steel Pipe & Piling, becoming VP of purchasing and operations.
• Braeden Hamilton is the new eastern territory manager at Hercules Machinery Corp. The Air Force veteran fills the shoes of industry veteran Bryan Daniel, who retired on Sept. 27.
• Pablo Cerda transitions to a role in global hammer sales at PACO Equipment in Houston.
• Cole Newman rises to business unit manager at Jacksonville, FL, offices of PVE Equipment USA.
• David Rettner announced that he will retire as president/chief growth officer at American Engineering Testing, Inc. in St. Paul, MN. His career began at MnDOT in 1985 and he spent the last 20 at AET.

Recognitions:

• Doug Keller, president and CEO of Goettle, is named a 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award honoree from the Spirit of Construction Foundation, which promotes builders in the Cincinnati region. Separately, Goettle was recognized by the organization as a Big Impact Circle sponsor.
• Andrew Puk, a business manager at J. Fletcher Creamer & Son, Inc. in its New Jersey and Maryland offices, becomes a board member for NUCA NJ.
• Jesse Roush and Dan Spoerl won the 2024 Bean Bag Tournament, a cultural event at Veit's Wisconsin office. Also deserving a shout-out is estimator Kevin Topp, who crafted the trophies.
• David Staines and Randall Frost, both from Canal Barge Company, have been named to the maritime industry publication, The Waterways Journal 40 Under 40 list.
• Jack Eckman was guest of honor for his 50-year anniversary at Equipment Corporation of America. The Philadelphia branch warranty specialist cut a video reflecting on his decades of work. The hype-video attracted his colleagues from near and far for the celebration.
• Bethanne Mashburn, owner of The Loren Group in Gadsden, AL, hosted Calhoun County high school students and faculty for a discussion about managing stress.
• Gabriel Rodriguez, a CAD designer at Lloyd Engineering, Inc., achieved a personal goal when he reached the summit of Ecuador's highest mountain, Mount Chimborazo. His treacherous hike took him more than 20K feet above sea level. Congratulations and great photos!

On the Job

ASAP Group machinery was spotted extracting/installing 286 lf of sheet pile, just 12 miles from the PDCA office. Crews were working at the Black Creek Water Resources Development job.

C.D. Perry, LLC is the prime contractor for a New York State Electric & Gas hydroelectric facility upgrade in Morrisonville, NY. Crews drove flat sheet piling from company inventory for installation of two cellular cofferdams, using their Hercules Machinery Co. HMC Model 25 vibro. 

Cape Romain Contractors updates the Mount Pleasant, SC, shrimp dock project; video shows the first prestressed concrete piles going down using company-owned equipment.

Kokosing is presently in the design phase as it prepares to replace the Wallops Island Causeway Bridge serving the NASA flight facility in coastal Virginia. Construction for the FHWA project is scheduled to start in early 2025; the contractor tells us that every pier bent for the bridge will be on concrete piles.

Norwalk Marine Contractors uses its Junttan rig (the first one in the U.S.), for SOE where the crew installed H-piles from Nucor Skyline for a new mixed-use development in Norwalk, CT.

Sargent is a subcontractor on what is reported to be the first dam removal in international waters. In addition to assisting with demolition, its crew is installing a cofferdam to facilitate restoration of 10 miles of the St. Croix River, which defines the Maine (US)/New Brunswick (Can.) border.

SJ Hamill Construction is mobilized at the Georgia/South Carolina state line where it is installing a cofferdam in the Savannah River for an expansion of the Georgia Ports Ocean Terminal.

Trevcon Construction is on campus at Fordham University where crews are building the new Waterfront Center, a facility to support the school's sailing and rowing programs, and the greater Bronx community.

Weeks Marine has a crew building a cofferdam in the Hudson River, one component for construction of a new rail tunnel, and part of an infrastructure investment program modernizing connectivity between New York and New Jersey. A video of pile installation shows an APE vibro in action.

COWI wins the bid from the City of Berkeley, CA, to provide engineering services in the transformation of a municipal pier into a dual-purpose structure that will accommodate ferry access and recreation.

Gerhart Cole has a team working to retrofit the federal courthouse in Salt Lake City, UT; in addition to pursuing seismic upgrades and resiliency advancements, they toured the GSA administrator around the facility. Terracon is also among the many stakeholders on this project.

Shannon & Wilson provided geotechnical and hydrogeological engineering services for the construction of a new, publicly funded port in Whittier, AK. CRW Engineering Group was also part of the design/build team. KTUU-TV covered the opening of the new facility that will serve tourists arriving in the state via cruise ship.

Notes From the Field

A future home to the Final Four? It probably wouldn't meet NCAA capacity requirements, and the ballers at The Walsh Group wouldn't want to share anyway! The Chicago offices for the contractor feature a full-size basketball court, which stays busy with lunchtime workouts, after-hours pick-up games and company tournaments. Senior estimator Ken Gollon says it shows a commitment from Walsh to offer a fitness option and work/play balance it's one of the reasons he took the job!

Summer '24 interns at Walsh flash the company hand signal from half-court in the Chicago offices

B'More Boppers may be a recognizable name to baseball card enthusiasts. It's been an occasional, special depiction of the Baltimore Orioles MLB team. And if you're a fan of the Birds, keep your gear handy for October since they snagged a postseason berth! Dissen & Juhn Company held a company outing at a game in late September, and possibly got to see the next national champs in some pre-playoff action.

Have you checked a job site with Google Earth? Kena Yoke of Island Piling was at the computer and wanted to check on a beachfront, residential project in Naples, FL. She was surprised by the "street view" function on the almighty search engine focused on imagery of her cranes towering over 565 recently installed PSC piles.

Give 'em NIL royalties! We can't comment on the performance of the carbon fiber hard hats, but we will advocate that the C.J. Mahan Construction Company crew on the Cave Run Lake project, east of Lexington, KY, get a few dead presidents for lending their image/likeness to the PPE supplier.

Thanks to several of the companies and individuals featured in this October edition of APON for submitting and clarifying the entries you've just read. It's a lot harder when we have to make up this content (JK). Remember, you have an open invitation to submit news for PDCA to consider using in this publication and PileDriver magazine.

Time-sensitive ­ PLEASE update your company listing on your PDCA member account ASAP. We are gathering content for the 2025 PDCA Membership Directory this month and want to print the eventual hard copy publications you demand as completely and accurately as possible. Call PDCA if you need help accessing your account in the new member management system, The PDCA Connection.