Oates Associates engineering marks 35th year with expansion

From Illinois Business Journal news services

COLLINSVILLE – Oates Associates, a civil and structural engineering and architectural services firm based in Collinsville, is marking its 35th year in business with a St. Louis office expansion.

“We’ve seen a healthy increase in transportation and building projects over the past couple of years, which led us to expand our St. Louis office earlier this year and open a Belleville, Ill., office in 2014,” Chief Executive Officer Joseph Hagerty (left). “We really owe our success to our many loyal clients and our talented, hard-working employees.”
Oates Associates has completed numerous major projects over the past 35 years, ranging from highway, bridge and street projects to parks and recreation master planning, school renovations and new buildings, and a range of planning and design projects for corporate and commercial organizations. Projects include:

• Engineering and survey services for the original design of several facilities on the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, including the Engineering Building, Art & Design Building, Student Fitness Center and Korte Stadium.

• Designing the first modern roundabout intersections in Southern Illinois – the Poplar Street roundabouts in Highland.

• Developing aesthetic guidelines for all visual elements along Interstate 255 in the 1980s. Subsequent work included the design of six miles of interstate, 10 major bridge structures, the interchange of I-255 and I-270, and the addition of an interchange at Mousette Lane, all totaling $70 million in construction.

• Planning and designing the city of Wildwood’s first community park. Phase I was completed in August 2015 and includes an all-inclusive playground, pavilion, and natural play elements.

• Providing architectural design for a $20 million water treatment plant in Jacksonville, Ill., that was designed to support the functions of the Jacksonville Utilities Department and complement the city’s historic architecture and surrounding residential community.

President and COO Bruce Schopp (right) said more than half of Oates Associates’ 39 staff members are licensed professional engineers or architects. Of the 21 licensed professionals, 15 earned their licenses while employed at Oates Associates.

The firm was founded in 1980 as Vollmer Associates. David Oates purchased the engineering firm in 1990. Oates added architectural services, opened a St. Louis office in 2006, and developed a loyal clientele among counties and municipalities, educational facilities and corporations throughout the Midwest. Oates transitioned leadership of the company to Joseph Hagerty and Bruce Schopp in 2010.

 

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