Day 54 I waited until today to post about yesterday (Tuesday) because I ended up not spending the whole day at work. I started the day preparing for a meeting with the city admininstrator and other directors in the city. Normally my supervisor, the director of public works, goes to these meetings. But since he…
Tag: construction
A Day in the Life of a Civil Engineer – Day 44 and 45
Day 44 Hopefully today will be the last day I have to combine more than one day in a post – finally getting somewhat caught up. Today, I went through more emails. And I finished up the final approval letter for that development I worked on last Friday – it is for an industry in…
A Day in the Life of a Civil Engineer – Day 17
Day 17 Alley reconstruction project Well I waited until later tonight to post because we had a public meeting tonight at city hall for an alley reconstruction project. The city has over the last several years replaced their alleys with concrete pavement, and this one is the last in this particular neighborhood. We completed the…
A Day in the Life of a Civil Engineer – Day 8
Day 8 The great construction mystery: Why aren't the standard frames made to fit the standard inlets? Well, the inlet frames I picked out were placed on the structures today! I went out to work with the crew while they were placing them to make sure they fit and they were set at the…
Every Day Counts – Report from the Midwest Meeting
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to participate in a Peer Exchange workshop on Project Delivery as a representative for APWA. The meeting was one of four regional meetings organized and hosted by AASHTO to facilitate dialogue between federal, state, and local agencies. By encouraging discussion and building partnerships, they are hoping to provide guidance for…
Climbing the Uphill Battle for ADA on a Non-compliant Curb Ramp
My primary involvement in ADA has been as an engineer designing and building infrastructure in the right of way and in years past, as a building inspector approving private development. During my career, I have always made a dedicated effort to learn about and meet the requirements of this federal law. But it's been a…
CCDD Update – Get the Scoop on CCDD & Let IEPA Know What You Think
If you’re involved in construction in Illinois, you are probably well aware of new CCDD law passed last year and made effective immediately by our state legislators and governor. Many of us have been struggling to understand this new law because it was created with little guidance but severe penalties for noncompliance. Fortunately the Chicago…
A CCDD Update – February 2011
Background information for those just wandering into this legislative disaster: Last year, some of our Illinois legislators passed a law to regulate and impose a fee on anyone trying to dump dirt in a hole. At least that's the way it started out. As you will see from this update, the IEPA has worked to…
Stearns Road Corridor – An Out of this World Project
Today I had the privilege of attending our APWA Chapter meeting and then touring the Stearns Road Corridor Construction Project. Tours are offered a few times a year as a regular feature of APWA meetings and always provide great information. This particular tour offered a unique opportunity to visit the construction site of a $165…
Illinois’ CCDD Law Update
Most people working in the construction industry in Illinois are now aware of the new Clean Construction and Demolition Debris (CCDD) law that has rocked our world. With no notice and still no mention of it in the Illinois EPA news feed, this law has shut down jobs in a time when they are most…