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Empowering Women Engineers on Women’s Equality Day

Posted on August 25, 2023August 30, 2023 by Heidi Whitver

At HR Green, we proudly embrace diversity as a cornerstone of our identity. As Women’s Equality Day approaches, we stand alongside the global community in recognizing the incredible contributions of women in society, specifically in the engineering field.

With a legacy deeply rooted in ‘Building Communities and Improving Lives,’ we’re honored to amplify the voices and experiences of the remarkable women who drive innovation and excellence within our organization. Through their testimonies, we unveil stories of determination, resilience, and passion, highlighting the pivotal role they play at HR Green. Join us in celebrating Women’s Equality Day by delving into the inspiring narratives of these exceptional professionals who embody the spirit of progress and equality in engineering.

Cindy Farrar

Construction Technician III, St. Louis, MO

Cindy is a construction inspector, so she verifies the construction of transportation projects, specifically asphalt, concrete, bridges, guardrails, and anything else along the roadway. Cindy hasn’t always been in construction. After her children were school-age, she returned to work, applying for an opening with the Missouri Department of Transportation. During her first summer, Cindy mowed grass, and at the end of the season, they were looking to place people in full-time employment. It was then that Cindy moved into a full-time construction position. She quickly fell in love with construction, enjoying working on projects from plans to completion. After 28 years, Cindy retired from the Missouri Department of Transportation and started her current position with HR Green.

How has the workforce changed since you began your career?

“When I started, in 1998, I felt like everybody was older. I looked up to older men who had been doing this a long time and tried to learn from their experiences. There were a couple of women, and I still remember a few of them. I really looked up to this one lady named Judy, who was an engineer. We see more women in planning and design now than when I started. But as far as women in the field, I’m kind of sad to say it feels like there hasn’t been much of an increase.”

How does HR Green support diversity, specifically women?

“I feel like employers are so much more family-friendly now than they were 27 years ago. Back then, I was kind of looked down upon when something would come up related to my family, like kids coming home from school sick. I feel that the industry has come a long way and become more family-friendly. This is true at HR Green with schedule flexibility. Working from home is so beneficial to anyone with a family, in addition to good family time and leave.”

Do you have any advice for other women in STEM?

“There were times early in my career when sometimes I might have taken offense in meetings and felt discouraged. Don’t sit back in the corner and let others have all the opinions. If you have thoughts, speak up. Even if you might think, others might not agree. Just speak up. Also, fight to get a well-rounded experience. Ask to be on the special teams and projects. Don’t be afraid to do something new and out of your comfort zone.

Kyla Jacobson

Business Development – Water and Wastewater, McHenry, IL

Kyla found her passion for engineering accidentally. Her goal was to go to medical school, and when it didn’t work out, that’s when she saw an ad for a municipality looking for a chemist. She dove into her position in drinking water and quickly discovered and later accomplished her goal to be the water utility director. After 33 years, she retired from the municipal water department and began her career with HR Green to continue developing water practices.

Can you share some challenges you’ve faced as a woman in engineering and how you’ve overcome them?

“There are several places and people that still view women as less. When I started my career in the mid-eighties, I would be the only woman in the office. While I rose through the ranks in my career, my stepping stones were not the same as the men in my department. Promotion came with raises, titles, and other compensation. When I would reach the same promotion, it was never at the same level. I had to fight for years to be treated equally, and at times never won. Today, women still face challenges in being seen as capable. However, there are more people and organizations that see these differences in treatment and compensate fairly.”

How does HR Green support and promote gender equality and diversity within the workplace?

“HR Green does a fabulous job with their diversity programs. I think that they do a really good job with the other initiatives that they’re working on as well, and they embrace diversity besides just women in engineering. We’re making strides to get more people involved and get more people to understand what a diverse workforce can do.”

How can we encourage more girls and young women to pursue STEM fields and engineering in particular?

“First of all, exposing girls to these opportunities begins in junior high. By high school and college, we tend to have already formed some opinions. But starting earlier gives young women more opportunities and introduces them to more options. Then, it’s ensuring they are supported. Not everyone has the same opportunities, finances, and support systems. Finally, shining a spotlight on women in STEM will help young women feel empowered in their own dreams and goals.”

HR Green booth during student career fair

HR Green's Kyla Jacobsen meets with students during career fair

Andi Schumann, PE

Project Engineer – Transportation, St. Louis, MO

Andi began her career at HR Green nearly 10 years ago when she interned the summer before her college graduation. She has been with the company since her graduation and is an engineer in the company’s Transportation Business Line in the St. Louis office. Andi enjoys the transportation design aspect of civil engineering. In her day-to-day, she primarily focuses on project delivery, meeting client expectations, delegating work to her team members and answering questions, making sure they know the tasks that are in front of them.

Can you share some challenges you’ve faced as a woman in engineering and how you’ve overcome them?

“I think that one of the main challenges women face is that most fields are male-dominated. So I think that, in general, it can just be intimidating to go into when you know that there may be fewer women in your office or on the projects that you’re working on. One of the biggest challenges is just personally overcoming that and not letting yourself be intimidated or hindered in your career growth. You have to learn how to advocate for yourself and navigate working in a majority-male work setting. I will say, though, at HR Green, I have yet to really feel that there was much of a hindrance to me. Overall, I do think we have a pretty good culture here, and I have yet to feel like that has reduced any of my opportunities.”

As Women’s Equality Day approaches, why do you think it’s important to celebrate and recognize the achievements of women in engineering?

“It’s important to have and show diversity in all aspects of the office, bringing together thought diversity, unique perspectives, and individual skills. I think that having examples of this in your life does make a big difference. If we all, especially younger girls, can see that there are women in the industry, they will believe it is something they can do too.”

How does HR Green support and promote gender equality and diversity within the workplace?

“A great example of this at HR Green is the fact that our CFO, Michelle Byard, is a woman. In several companies and municipalities you look, only men are in leadership roles. Having somebody on our executive leadership team that’s a woman is awesome to see. And I think it should make all the other women in the company feel like there’s endless opportunities.”

Developing Connections and Community

In addition to professional development programs, HR Green values comradery. Through several groups focused on employee connections, team members can find mentorship and support from their colleagues.

Employee Connections

HeR Green connects women professionals across the firm, providing support and camaraderie to cultivate skills, encourage career development, and exchange ideas.
Young Professional groups discuss topics relevant to career development, augment formalized training, and provide community to professionals from entry-level to ten years of experience.
Innovation Lab is a platform for positive change, allowing all employees to communicate improvement ideas and business opportunities to decision-makers and senior management.

As we commemorate Women’s Equality Day and honor the strides made by women in engineering, we invite you to explore the heart of HR Green’s culture. These remarkable women exemplify the values that fuel our commitment to diversity, creativity, and collaboration.

Get Invovled

August 2023 Bite-Size Colorado Legislation News

Posted on August 1, 2023August 22, 2023 by Heidi Whitver

Discover the latest updates on Colorado State Legislation! As new legislation is introduced, it’s important to stay informed about the changes it may bring. HR Green is monitoring the priorities of our state legislators. The following are three immediately impactful topics from the recent legislative session.

HB23-1255 (The Regulating Local Housing Growth Restrictions Bill)

This bill is anticipated to be effective 90 days after the adjournment of 2023 legislative session. (View bill.) This bill addresses the ability of a governmental entity to place growth caps on residential development, and “governmental entity” means:

(I) A STATUTORY OR HOME RULE COUNTY, A CITY AND COUNTY, OR A MUNICIPALITY; AND
(II) ANY SPECIAL DISTRICT OR AGENCY, AUTHORITY, POLITICAL SUBDIVISION, OR INSTRUMENTALITY OF A COUNTY, OR OF A CITY AND COUNTY, OR OF A MUNICIPALITY.
The bill defines the conditions that a temporary anti-growth law may be implemented, along with a maximum enforcement period of the anti-growth law.
The bill also introduces permit guidance:
“(5)(a) EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE PROVIDED IN SUBSECTION (5)(b) OF THIS SECTION, NOTHING IN THIS SECTION REQUIRES A GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY TO APPROVE A PERMIT APPLICATION OR PRECLUDES A GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY FROM REGULATING THE USE OF LAND, DEVELOPING LAND USE PLANS, ENACTING AFFORDABILITY REQUIREMENTS THAT REGULATE OR RESTRICT MARKET RATE DEVELOPMENT OR REDEVELOPMENT IN ORDER TO ENFORCE AFFORDABILITY REQUIREMENTS, REGULATING THE RENTAL OF ANY PROPERTY OR PORTION OF A PROPERTY THAT IS AVAILABLE FOR LODGING FOR LESS THAN THIRTY DAYS, OR DENYING A PERMIT FOR ANY REASON, INCLUDING EXTENDING OR ACQUIRING INFRASTRUCTURE, WATER RESOURCES, OR SERVICES.”

Micro-trenching (Fiber Deployment / Telecommunications)

Parameters are expected to be presented in the next legislative cycle, and a number of communities have likely been presented with this concept.

This is primarily related to the installation of fiber communications infrastructure, and it presents an opportunity to understand the industry’s viewpoint regarding microtrenching.
There are not any current statewide engineering guidelines related to the construction and installation of microtrenches.
In advance of statewide laws, there is an opportunity to better understand a community’s outlook on microtrenching.

SB23-268 (Ten-Year Transportation Plan )

This bill will be effective as of 1 September 2023. (View bill.) The bill establishes:

“A DESIGNATED AND READILY AVAILABLE DEPARTMENT CONTACT TO RECEIVE AND RESPOND TO THEIR QUESTIONS ABOUT THE STATUS AND FUNDING OF SPECIFIC TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS THAT AFFECT THEIR COMMUNITIES AND CONSTITUENTS.”
This legislation requires the following information to be updated as transportation projects change, time frame for project completion and the total estimated amount of funding.
Fiscal Constraint – “(d)(I) To study and make recommendations for existing and future transportation systems in Colorado with a focus of such study and recommendations being a ten-year plan for each mode of transportation. The ten-year plan MUST be based on what can be reasonably expected to be implemented with the estimated revenues which are likely to be available.”

Note: The material contained in this newsletter is provided for informational purposes only and does not represent a legal opinion on any subject matter. We encourage you to review this summary and consult with your legal counsel to determine applicability to your particular situation.

Bite-Size Colorado Legislation Newsletter Sign-up

Our Colorado team leaders need help keeping tabs on changing legislation that could impact their communities, and keeping track of proposed changes and updates in legislation can be daunting. With the potential impact on local communities, staying up to date is crucial. If you’re looking for a way to stay informed about Colorado Legislation, you’re in the right place.

HR Green’s periodic and approachable updates are designed to give you the information you need, straight to your inbox. Sign up below to stay on top of important changes that could impact your community.

HR Green can help communities like yours navigate changing regulations and development needs. And we’re here when you need professional experience and insight with Plan Review, Engineering Design Services, and Grant Writing.

View Governmental Services

Start Preparing for BEAD Funding Grants Now

Posted on June 26, 2023September 13, 2023 by Heidi Whitver

Attention! BEAD Funding allocation has arrived, offering a once-in-a-generation opportunity for broadband in the U.S. With more than $42.5 billion in grant funding flowing to state broadband programs, it is critical that communities act swiftly to plan now to get their share of funds, particularly those in rural or remote parts of the country. Communities can take an active role in securing their future by preparing to apply for funding immediately.

HR Green has helped dozens of communities prepare for this moment and, along the way, have seen a number of best practices. With our experience, we can help you make the most of this generational opportunity to improve connectivity for your community.

What is BEAD Funding?

The recent infrastructure bill has allocated $42 billion solely focused on broadband infrastructure. The impact of this funding, titled the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, on communities cannot be overstated. Robust broadband infrastructure is crucial for the proper functioning of modern-age community life. BEAD funding promotes equitable and accessible internet intended to prompt access for every citizen, no matter where they reside. By expanding broadband access, BEAD funding empowers communities to partake in the rapidly evolving digital landscape, paving the way for a better future.

The allocation of funds is based on the FCC’s latest broadband maps showing unserved, underserved, and served areas, identifying where investments in broadband infrastructure are most needed. (An initial version of the map was published on Nov. 18, 2022.)

Who Can Apply for BEAD Funding?

Municipalities and private service providers can both apply for BEAD funding, although it is likely that public-private partnerships (P3s) will receive priority funding through any state grant programs. Public entities are best positioned when they have a strategic or comprehensive broadband plan in place that ensures access and equity for their stakeholders.

How to Prepare for BEAD Funding Application

The windows for applying can be short, so it’s essential to plan now! The BEAD Program is a structured four-phase process consisting of a letter of intent and planning, funding allocation, initial proposal, and final proposal and implementation. Each phase is meticulously designed with time-bound requirements to ensure that states, territories, or the NTIA smoothly progress to the next phase.

There are four things you need to do now to be prepared for when applications open:

1. Gather information: Start collecting the necessary information, such as letters of support, details of collaborators, data, maps, costs, and grant writing strategies. Our partners have successfully challenged provider maps that overstate the presence of broadband, and doing so early will help make funding via the grant program easier.

2. Stay informed: Keep an eye on the application timelines, updates, eligibility requirements, and other relevant information to ensure you are ready when the time comes to apply.

3. Develop a Vision and Strategy. Many of our clients have found that defining the problem and establishing a Vision is crucial. Is your community willing to take on the risk and investment to provide municipal broadband, or are you best served seeking out an ISP partner (or partners)? With a Vision and Strategy in place, you can help guide the process instead of relying on the private sector without influence.

4. Partner with experts: Work with a company like HR Green that has years of experience in the application process. We can provide support, guidance, and help you navigate the complex funding landscape.

A Success Story: McHenry County

HR Green has helped many communities solve this challenging puzzle. One of our clients, McHenry County, decided to leverage American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for broadband. The county had a need to expand broadband service but did not want to become the service provider. Our team collaborated with McHenry County, creating a program that supported private company growth.

The funding was used as an incentive for established broadband service providers to apply for grants and expand their services to the area. In this case, it was crucial that the county acted as the organizer for the broadband expansion project rather than becoming a service provider. Two providers have submitted grants covering most of the county’s geography, and the county is likely to be able to repurpose the broadband ARPA funds due to the coordinated effort.

Bridge the Digital Divide

Gain precision guidance for your community to make the most of BEAD Funding allocation. Our experienced team of broadband professionals understand the pivotal role communities play in providing broadband access to their citizens. We are ready to help you determine your community’s specific needs and provide unwavering support throughout every step of the implementation process.

Unlock Your Broadband Future

US Survey Foot vs. International Foot: How and When to Utilize Each

Posted on June 23, 2023June 23, 2023 by Heidi Whitver

In an effort to simplify measurement standards across the United States, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National Geodetic Survey (NGS), National Ocean Service (NOS), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), have decided to retire the US Survey Foot. This retirement is a significant move considering the long-standing use of the US Survey Foot in various surveying and mapping applications. While it may take some adjustment, the surveying community should gradually transition to the International Foot, embracing the benefits of a unified measurement system that fetches greater consistency, simplicity, and compatibility with the International System of Units (SI).

Difference Between International Foot and US Survey Foot

In 1959, the US adopted both an international foot and a US survey foot as official standards for measurements in surveying. The difference between the US survey foot and the international foot is barely noticeable in everyday use and function, differing by only 2 parts per million (0.01 foot per mile). But when it comes to applying the differing units to state plane coordinate systems that span hundreds of miles, the difference can add up to several feet.

Advancements in precise coordinate system tools and the rollout of a new horizontal and vertical datum in 2025 that define latitude, longitude, height, scale, gravity, and orientation throughout the US, make this the perfect time to move the US toward a single, uniform definition of the foot.

Situations That Still Accept the US Survey Foot

While NOAA and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) officially retired the U.S. survey foot as we entered 2023, there are circumstances where this measurement is still accepted.

These scenarios include current ongoing projects and older projects that began using the US Survey Foot and specific jurisdictions that continue to recognize the US Survey Foot.

National Geodetic Survey (NGS) will always support the use of the U.S. survey foot for NAD 83 and 27. This is because 40 states “officially” use the U.S. survey foot for NAD 83.
– National Geodetic Survey

A few years from now, as mentioned above, with the adoption of the new datums, new projects should employ the International Foot, nurturing the move toward uniformity in measurements across the country. By gradually phasing out the US Survey Foot and transitioning to the International Foot, accuracy and clarity in surveying, mapping, and engineering applications will be enhanced, contributing to a smoother collaboration.

NOAA plans for the international foot to replace the U.S. survey foot by 2025, giving regulatory agencies and engineers plenty of time to prepare for this transition. HR Green Geospatial professionals will prepare instructions for our internal engineers and staff as well as our clients, to guide future surveying and mapping and help all project consultants and contractors understand how to apply the change. This will apply to land surveying, engineering, GIS, and mapping projects and will simplify the integration of various forms of data with various CAD and mapping software. Sometime in late 2023 or in 2024 HR Green will update our clients and internal staff with guidelines and plans to ensure your projects and data will adapt to this change through 2025 and beyond.

A Unified Measurement System

The retirement of the US Survey Foot is an important step toward embracing a unified measurement system. It is crucial for professionals involved in surveying, mapping, and engineering to adjust to the International Foot, ensuring that projects align with international standards. By understanding the differences between the US Survey Foot and International Foot, and recognizing situations where the former is still acceptable, the transition to a standardized system can be smooth, fostering greater interoperability and collaboration across borders.

The video above explains the difference between the U.S. survey foot (sft) and the international survey foot (ift) and the importance of this distinction when working with map projections. It will be helpful to surveyors, planners and anyone who needs to convert map coordinates from meters to feet. The National Geodetic Survey, in partnership with The COMET Program, offers a library of videos related to geodesy and mapping.

Looking for insights on transitioning to using the international foot? Connect with our professionals to discuss tailored services for your needs.

Meet the Survey Team

Iowa Broadband: Deadline Approaching for New Grant Opportunity

Posted on June 22, 2023June 26, 2023 by Heidi Whitver

There is important news for Iowa broadband: Iowa’s Office of the Chief Information Officer (the department that distributes broadband grants) has opened the next opportunity for broadband grants! The Notices of Funding Availability (NOFA) #8 provides $148 million for broadband projects through the Federal Capital Project Fund program. There will be other NOFA rounds for the BEAD grants (from the Infrastructure Bill), most likely starting in early 2024.

Iowa Broadband Grant Application Process

NOFA #8 is open now, and grant applications will be accepted until August 25, 2023, at 5:00 pm. For more information or to ask questions, there is a Pre-Application Conference on June 28, 2023, at 2:00 pm CST. Additional questions can be asked from June 28, 2023, until July 7, 2023.

There is a minimum match of 20%, unless you are in one of the designated Iowa Broadband Intervention Zones. Earlier this year, the Broadband Office had a process that provided communities the opportunity to define the areas that have the largest broadband challenges. The State selected and ranked those Zones, and they will get either more points in the grant application rating or less match required (there is a map for that on their website). If you are in one of these zones, working towards having some entity apply for a grant is a particularly good idea.

The entity that applies for the grant will be required to be a broadband provider (either a community, an electric cooperative, or a private provider). All grant-funded broadband construction work has to be completed by September 30, 2026.

The entity applying for a NOFA #8 grant must quickly prepare some things.

Coordinating the grant application process
Prepare the grant application
Project map/high-level design
Project costs (Budget Plan)
Plan for getting letters of support
Alignment with the Broadband Intervention Zones
If this follows other broadband grants in Iowa, additional points are allocated for having a professional engineer stamp the entity’s high-level design

To view additional resources and details on this grant opportunity for Iowa Broadband, visit Iowa’s Office of the Chief Information Officer website. The timeline for Notice of Funding Availability #008 including steps and dates, are described below (all dates are subject to change).

Schedule of Important Dates

NOFA #008 Pre-Publication Notice	6/15/2023
Pre-Application Conference	6/28/2023, 2:00 PM CST
Written Questions Submissions	6/28/2023 – 7/07/2023
Responses Posted By	7/14/2023
Application Acceptance Window Opens	7/14/2023
Application Acceptance Window Closes/Applications Due	8/25/2023, 5:00 PM CST
Application Review Ends	9/22/2023
Final Agency Decisions(s)/Notice of Intent to Award	9/22/2023
Grant Agreement Negotiations and Execution	10/27/2023

With many things to complete and approaching deadlines, HR Green can help! Contact us today!

Meet Our Land Development Teams in Austin, Texas

Posted on June 6, 2023April 3, 2025 by Heidi Whitver

The Greater Austin metro is experiencing astonishing growth through the expansion of business and domestic migration. People are eager to plant their roots in Central Texas, and rapid development has all facets of the market moving at the same time. This growth provides unique opportunities for both residential and commercial sectors of the market.

HR Green’s experience in the Austin metro spans decades and includes the surrounding cities and counties as well as the Austin Central Business District. This experience gives clients the confidence that we will help them mitigate potential challenges for development in already established zones. Understanding the design of utilities and established infrastructure, knowing the people and departments to work with to obtain permits, and envisioning the purpose of the client’s plans allow our teams to keep projects on track.

“If you haven’t been to Austin in the past ten years, you wouldn’t recognize the skyline of the Central Business District. It means something to be part of changing that skyline.”
– Joe Isaja

From land planning to engineering to landscape architecture, we perform as a single, integrated team to streamline the design process. As a company with diverse capabilities in land development, water infrastructure and water resources, transportation, traffic, and construction engineering and inspection , we develop conceptual plans that respond positively to environmental and physical site conditions as well as our clients’ business objectives while positioning parcels for the future.

“The various disciplines of our organization help us be a better consultant to our clients. It’s a very collaborative process with opportunities for training each other in subsequent businesses that positively impacts the market and our clients.”
– Faris Abboushi

Predicting and preparing for the next phase of growth requires technical expertise, certainly, but also thoughtfulness, communication, and collaboration. Our dedicated teams work with you from start to finish, utilizing local knowledge and years of designing for the future.

Connect with our team members in Austin, Texas

Our land development professionals unify land planning, engineering, and landscape architecture within a single, integrated team to achieve success. Contact us today to experience the difference when you work with our team – a team that develops a strong understanding of your vision and brings local knowledge of Central Texas’s natural features with a fresh perspective to land development services.

Judd Willmann, PE | Land Development Practice Leader | 512.368.8358

Faris Abboushi, PE | Land Development Regional Director – Residential | 512.960.4088

Shervin Nooshin, PE | Land Development Regional Director – Residential | 512.865.6949

Michael Giannetta, PE | Senior Project Manager | 512.686.0934

Disaster Recovery: A 4-Step Process to Restoring Order

Posted on May 17, 2023May 31, 2023 by Heidi Whitver

Communities that focus on the concept of resilience are much better positioned to deal with disaster recovery, retain a healthy position, and regain normalcy when properly prepared.

There are few natural disasters more devastating than flooding.

Water, a vital life force, is contradictorily destructive and devastating. After an event – or events like our country sees during hurricane season – the effort that must be expended to recover from the damage can be overwhelming, to say the least.

When devasting mixes of water and wind overtake a populated area, concerns arise about building integrity, transportation structures, electrical and mechanical systems, the functionality of water supply, and wastewater infrastructure; the list goes on.

This is all dauntingly bad news.

Here’s the good news: there is a disaster recovery process that can help you bring life back to normal after a flooding event. Certainly, there will be things to address that you can’t even anticipate just after a disaster event. But there are plans to be made now and requirements to meet to restore order.

Disaster Recovery Process

The process developed by HR Green helps you to think logically through your challenges:

Identify and Solve Immediate Challenges

The safety of people is the top priority. Immediate challenges and the most important ones to address all tie back to safety. You’ll want to quickly identify when structures are compromised, sites are contaminated, or water supplies are potentially hazardous. Ideally, plans are already in place with key stakeholders (government, community, health), and disaster simulations and drills have been completed.

Assess Facilities and Services

You must think of both building envelope in and building envelope out in these situations. Assessing mechanical and electrical systems and their integrity is important. Are necessary services being provided? Are facilities underwater? What does that mean as the days pass? You need to understand this during flood recovery.

Develop and Prioritize Solutions

Understanding the difference between “have to do now” items and “okay to do later” items is also helpful as you address priorities. Do you have contamination issues? If so, this would be a higher priority item than starting the design on a flood control system, for instance.

Program Longer-term Improvements

Longer-term, you may be looking at mitigation work, setting policies on property buy-outs, performing revised flood modeling, pavement management or asset management, plan check or plan review services for future rebuilding efforts. It’s important to program these realistically to help them come to life.

HR Green has helped communities nationwide through each step of this disaster recovery process through a variety of flooding events. Examples of our work can be found here:

Celebrating Earth Day and the Role of Civil Engineers

Posted on April 20, 2023April 17, 2023 by Heidi Whitver

Happy Earth Day! As civil engineers, we couldn’t help but notice the striking connection between our work and the natural world we inhabit. After all, our job is to design, build and maintain physical structures that work in tandem with the surrounding environment.

We understand that human progress and environmental preservation are equally important and interconnected. The world we build must not only serve our needs but also consider the balance of the ecosystems around us. At HR Green, we are committed to creating progressive engineering solutions that benefit our communities and the planet.

History of Earth Day

Before 1970, there were no laws that protected much of our world. We lacked critical environmental regulations for disposing toxic materials and even for the treatment of essentials like drinking water.

This all changed beginning in the spring of 1970 when Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson created Earth Day as a way to force environmental protection issues onto the national agenda. According to the EPA, 20 million Americans participated in demonstrations across the country on the first Earth Day! As a result, in December 1970, Congress authorized the creation of a new federal agency to tackle environmental issues, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Since then, many regulations and laws, including the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, have been implemented to protect the world and our communities. Earth Day continues to be celebrated annually and grows internationally. Over 190 countries today recognize Earth Day.

Civil Engineering Impacts on the Environment

Civil engineers are entrusted with an important mission: finding innovative solutions that provide a meaningful contribution to our environment and improve the lives of those in their community. From optimizing water systems, reclaiming brownfield sites, and protecting waterways with low impact designs to pursuing energy-efficient initiatives, all engineering disciplines play a critical role in preserving our environment.

HR Green’s Commitment to Improving Lives

As civil engineers, it is our duty to create sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions for our communities. By designing infrastructure that minimizes impacts on ecosystems, implementing stormwater management systems that offer climate resiliency, and combating the nation’s ongoing public health concerns associated with lead service lines, we constantly strive to find the balance between advancement and preservation. HR Green’s designs seek to improve the lives of those residing in our communities today while also considering the lives of future generations.

Learn About Our Mission

Building Community Resilience Starts with Sustainable Infrastructure Design

Posted on April 11, 2023April 14, 2023 by Heidi Whitver

Resilience can be defined as the ability to recover quickly from setbacks. In communities around the country, civil infrastructure projects provide an assortment of challenges to address building community resilience. Efficiently-operating civil infrastructure is an essential component of a resilient, livable community.

The highways, bridges, and wastewater treatment plants we build today have design lives ranging from 20 to 75 years. This means that the civil infrastructure we are building will establish the energy, water, and materials efficiencies, and ecosystem impacts for decades. Communities must do the best they can with existing technologies, designing and delivering the most resource and energy-conserving infrastructure within the limits of budgets and priorities.

It’s no longer enough that infrastructure works, is constructed on time and within budget, or even that it is long-lasting — it now must be sustainable and resilient to changing conditions.

A tool that helps public works professionals, engineers, planners, contractors, policy experts, investors, and others work towards a more livable community is the Envision Rating System which is a state-of-the-art resource that helps professionals plan and execute more sustainable infrastructure projects. Today there are over 6,500 Envision Sustainability Professionals worldwide.

Envision is a guide that combines a best practices library, field-proven checklists for infrastructure projects of every size and type, and a comprehensive sustainability rating system. It provides an objective framework of criteria and performance achievements that helps users identify ways in which sustainable approaches can be used to plan, design, construct, and operate infrastructure projects. Developed by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI), Envision is a sustainability rating system for civil infrastructures to parallel what LEED does for buildings. It covers all phases of the project lifecycle: planning and design, construction, operation and maintenance, and deconstruction, demolition, and disposal.

5 Main Categories of the Envision Rating System:

Quality of Life: Purpose, Community, Wellbeing
Leadership: Collaboration, Management, Planning
Resource Allocation: Materials, Energy, Water
Natural World: Siting, Land & Water, Biodiversity
Climate & Risk: Resilience, Emission

Conventional vs. Sustainable Approach

All communities have roads, and most have some issues with capacity or poor level of service. In addition, they may be facing other challenges, such as deteriorating pavement, impacts on neighboring cities, project funding, and the public’s wants and needs. While every project has challenges, the conventional approach to this type of project is pretty simple. Add lanes to accommodate additional traffic and reconstruct or resurface the roadway to fix the deteriorating pavement, all while meeting minimum regulations.

But what has been missed? Stepping back allows planners to look at this process in a more sustainable light. What if the best solution isn’t adding more lanes? What about considerations for the public, stakeholders, native plantings, and other social, economic, and environmental impacts?

Helping in the Design for Building Community Resilience

Typically in any conventional approach, the only attention to climate and risk centers on regulatory requirements. In a sustainable approach, considerations such as addressing the infrastructure’s resilience and reducing greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions are evaluated.

Building Community Resilience Starts with Sustainable Infrastructure Design

Resilient design of civil infrastructure focuses on the following:

Assessing the Climate Threat
Avoiding Traps and Vulnerabilities
Preparing for Long-Term Climate Adaptability
Preparing for Short-Term Hazards

Assessing the climate threat involves the development of a comprehensive Climate Impact Assessment and Adaptation Plan. This step is crucial to help prepare for climate variations and natural hazards. The project team identifies and takes climate change risks and possible responses into the design of the infrastructure.

Evaluating the potential of long-term traps, vulnerabilities, and risks due to long-term changes can be detrimental to a community if not planned for accordingly. Did the project team prepare infrastructure systems to be resilient to the consequences of long-term climate change, perform adequately under altered climate conditions, or adapt to other long-term change scenarios? Other long-term scenarios need to be considered such as supply shortfalls, changes in operational conditions, desertification, beach erosion, loss of wetlands, etc.

Finally, preparing for natural and man-made short-term hazards needs to be considered to improve protection measures beyond existing regulations. The frequency and severity of these hazards may change over the life of the project (e.g., catastrophic wildfires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, etc.) and strategies need to be put in place to safeguard natural habitats and the community.

Every family, every community, and every business needs infrastructure to thrive, as it encompasses our local water mains, power lines, electrical grids, and the street in front of our homes. An efficiently-operating infrastructure is an essential component of a livable community. Conventional approaches to the design of our infrastructure may soon be inadequate. With many areas being affected by natural disasters, growing populations, and budget shortfalls, sustainable design approaches need to be considered to help communities become resilient to adversity.

HR Green has helped communities with various aspects of preserving natural environments or incorporating green infrastructure. Examples of our work can be found here:

Fitting Flyover – Steel Construction Magazine

Posted on March 29, 2023June 5, 2023 by Heidi Whitver

The Urban Loop Steel Flyover Bridge

If you look at a map of Des Moines, Iowa—digital or paper—you may notice a distinct rectangle formed by Interstates 35, 80, and 235. You may also notice another major, north-south highway—Iowa 141—that converges with the northwest corner of this rectangle, where the towns of Urbandale and Grimes meet.

This convergence, along with its entrance/exit ramps, had long been known for congestion and safety issues—but a new steel flyover bridge on IA 141 has helped alleviate these issues. As a critical element of the overall interchange reconfiguration, the bridge’s planning and design needed to address several
corridor constraints, multiple construction staging and safety challenges, and geotechnical challenges, as well as accommodate a future collector-distributor concept parallel to the I-35/I-80 mainline.

The existing interchange was a folded-diamond configuration, with nearly 90% of the northbound traffic exiting the Interstate turning right to go north on IA 141. But to do so, drivers had to go through several traffic signals before leaving the interchange area, and traffic often backed up onto the Interstate, resulting in delays, congestion, and crashes. In response, the City of Urbandale and adjacent communities sought a solution to create a safer interchange with better traffic flow and promote economic development in the area.

The Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) studied several solutions ranging from improvements to the existing interchange configuration to a complete overhaul. “Right-sizing” the solution through context-sensitive design led to the steel flyover concept, which took just under two years to complete.

The crossing is a 2,380-ft-long, 36-ft-wide continuous welded steel, horizontally curved girder bridge that carries northbound traffic exiting I-35/I-80 onto northbound IA 141. The horizontal alignment of the bridge is unique in that it includes two reverse curves. The bridge is divided into three superstructure units separated by finger plate expansion joints. Each unit has a horizontal curve in only one direction, simplifying the steel girder design, fabrication, and construction, and each was superelevated in a different direction that needed to be transitioned between units. Placing the piers between units at the location of the reverse curvature minimized the drainage that would cross the road in the transition zones and allowed the finger joints to be located where the cross section was level.

Shared with permission from Modern Steel Construction Magazine, April 2023.

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