2018 February Issue
Ameren, others work to build Next Generation energy workforce
By RICHARD J. MARK One of the hallmarks of the utility industry is the deep institutional knowledge of the workforce. In utility companies throughout the country, it’s not unusual to hear about employees who have worked in the business for upward of 40 years or more. Why? There are a number of reasons, but there…
Read MoreSouthern Illinois Builders Association supports STEM to build workforce
By ALAN J. ORTBALS The Southern Illinois Builders Association is working a multi-pronged strategy to attract young people to the construction industry where science, technology, engineering and math are its building blocks. Each October, SIBA holds its Career Expo, which offers middle and high school students from schools across Southwestern Illinois the opportunity to get…
Read MoreBi-State Development: Stories of Impact & Change
Gonzalez Companies, Stormwater Project Engineering, Glen Carbon
By DENNIS GRUBAUGH Gonzalez Companies, LLC is several years into a long-term engineering plan to address stormwater issues throughout the village of Glen Carbon. The work will fix problems that have been the subject of complaints in the TIF 1 commercial development along Illinois Route 159, as well as in many other areas throughout the…
Read MoreWoolpert, Guardian Angel Facility, Patrick Air Force Base, Florida
By RITA DUCKWORTH Woolpert’s latest project for the U.S. military is a new Guardian Angel Facility at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. The squadron is dedicated to lifesaving recovery missions during peacetime and war. Comprised of Combat Rescue Officers, Para-rescue Jumpers, Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) Specialists, they deploy to combat zones and…
Read MoreLouer Facility Planning, Furniture Installation, Washington University
By RITA DUCKWORTH Louer Facility Planning Inc. has built a strong rapport with Washington University over the past several years. The company will soon install furniture for phase two of a four-phase project for the university’s IT department. The project began at the beginning of 2017 and should wrap up by early 2019. “This has…
Read MoreQuality Testing and Engineering Inc., Public Safety Building, Edwardsville
By DENNIS GRUBAUGH EDWARDSVILLE — The city’s new Public Safety Building sits atop an all-important analysis provided by the firm of Quality Testing and Engineering Inc. QTE, an O’Fallon, Ill.-based company, completed the geotechnical soil studies that preceded the construction of the 51,000-square-foot building, which houses the city’s central fire station and Police Department.…
Read MoreVolkert Inc., Water Main Projects, Illinois American Water Company
By DENNIS GRUBAUGH In the past year and a half, the engineering firm of Volkert Inc. has designed approximately five miles of water main for Illinois American Water Co. Engineering Operations Manager Dave Holloway, of Volkert’s Collinsville office, said the largest of these projects was completed in late spring of 2017. The French Village water…
Read MoreArchitecture & Engineering Roundup
Q&A with Mark Eckert, mayor of Belleville and 2017-18 president of the Illinois Municipal League
IBJ: How long have you been involved with the Municipal League? Eckert: I started going faithfully to the conferences almost every year, and to anything that Municipal League held in our part of the state, since 2005, which was my first full year as mayor. I went to the conference that year and, quite…
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