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SPRING 2012 | ISSUE 18

Between the Lines CIVILTECH ENGINEERING, INC.’S QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER

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FALL 2016 | ISSUE 32

Jonathan R. Vana, P.E. President

A s they say, change is constant. Earlier this year, Civiltech went through a transformation with our new leadership team, and we are continuing to invest in positive changes,

most recently with our new work environment – all in an effort to advance our commitment to continually improve our work product and the services we provide our clients.

Civiltech recently relocated its headquarters in Itasca to a new location in the Two Pierce Place Building. This investment allows us to occupy the 14th floor in a fresh space that promotes collaboration and information sharing, increased productivity, and supports our highly valued work place culture. The move also allows us to strategically plan for future growth. We built out this new space focusing on what is most critical to achieving our goals, while keeping the bottom line in mind. The end result exceeded our expectations, and the excitement and energy created by this change is undeniable. On behalf of all Civiltech, I would like to invite you to come and take a tour of our redefined work environment and meet some of the other people behind the success of our operations.

President’s Message

CongratulationsTech Award

Earlier this year, Jelena Zunic, Assistant Network Administrator, was nominated and selected as a 2015-2016 Illinois Technology Foundation Fifty for the Future® Awardee. This award recognizes students who excel in the field of technology and demonstrate outstanding character and academics. Congratulations to Jelena on receiving this award!

Work Anniversaries

Congratulations to Cliff Ganek, Phil Hurst, Mark Piasecki and John Vogelman for their 10 years of service to the company. In addition, Mary Young is celebrating 25 years at Civiltech.From L to R: Mark, Phil, Mary, John and Cliff IN THIS ISSUE: WATERMAIN IN LOMBARD | CHICAGO SCHOLARS | PUBLIC HEARING IN LAKE COUNTY

&Civiltech EngineeringGreetings from Two Pierce Place

On October 21, Civiltech’s headquarters relocated. We have moved just down the street to Two Pierce Place in Itasca and upward to the 14th Floor. The process of moving an entire office is challenging as there is a lot more involved in constructing a new space than just selecting carpet and paint colors. We were fortunate to work with some very talented architects that encouraged us to think about how we work. We questioned how we could improve our workflow and how the new space could facilitate that. We also asked ourselves what type of work environment we wanted to foster. Answers to these questions would help us create an environment to work efficiently and effectively, to ultimately better serve our clients.

What struck us the most during the process is how the workplace has changed. We had been in our previous space for 15 years and it served us well, but times have changed. The need for individual desk space has decreased as more work is performed on computers rather than on paper or plan sheets. The need to store less paper has also greatly diminished the need for rows and rows of file cabinets. And most significantly, more emphasis is placed on encouraging a collaborative work environment.

Our industry has changed too. There used to be clear lines between Phase I, Phase II and Phase III. Now those lines have become blurred and our once isolated departments need to interact more than ever. Our new space integrates all of our design groups much more cohesively and allows for cross discipline collaboration. In addition to traditional conference rooms, our new office has “huddle spaces” that provide an area for small groups to meet in an informal setting. Even our breakroom has been designed to double as a training facility. All of this occurs in a technology driven environment where even televisions replace whiteboards. Video conferencing capabilities are critical in order to work seamlessly across offices, resulting in time and money savings.

As we watched construction unfold in the new office, it became time to decide exactly what we would be taking with us. Fifteen years is a long time to stay in an office space and a lot of “stuff” had accumulated over that time. For weeks leading up to moving day, every Thursday a big red dumpster would arrive and would quickly be filled with old reports, plan sets and miscellaneous other long forgotten items. It was fun finding treasures like old holiday party photos even though some of them should have stayed missing. Dumpster after dumpster of each of our histories made its way to the trash. It couldn’t help but feel like a fresh beginning.

Moving day successfully came and went, and we are settling into our new space. One of the great things about our new location is that it provides us with a birds-eye view of the Elgin-O’Hare construction project. For transportation engineers, it doesn’t get better than that! Watching the construction is a daily reminder of how civil engineers have an impact on the world. It’s easy to get lost in the day-to-day efforts of plan preparation, responding to comments and obtaining permits, and lose sight of the fact that we, as transportation engineers, affect people’s lives and have a lasting impact on our built environment.

We are embarking upon a new era in Civiltech’s history and this is an exciting time for us! If you’re in the area, stop by, we’d love to show you around.

14th Street Public Hearing

On August 30, the Lake County Division of Transportation hosted a Public Hearing to present the preferred improvement plan for the reconstruction of 14th Street between IL Route 131 and Jackson Street located in the communities of Waukegan and North Chicago. At the beginning of the project, a Stakeholder Involvement Group, consisting of community leaders, business owners, and residents, was formed to ensure identified solutions and ultimately the preferred improvement plan balanced community and technical needs. This project includes a “road diet” where the existing four lane roadway will be reduced to one through lane in each direction with a center turn lane. This reduction allows room for a sidewalk along one side of this commercial and residential corridor as well as a shared-use path along the other side. The path will connect the Robert McClory Bike Path to the Greenbelt Forest Preserve, creating an important link in the regional trail network. This project also includes the construction of a single lane roundabout at the intersection of 14th Street with Dugdale Road to improve safety at the intersection. Although, there are five other existing roundabouts located in Lake County, this will be the first in an urbanized area. Approximately 50 people viewed exhibits of the proposed project, participated in educational activities regarding roundabouts, and provided feedback regarding the proposed plan.

The project is currently in the design and right-of-way acquisition phase with construction anticipated in 2019.

Roosevelt Watermain

Civiltech designed over 16,000 feet of watermain lining along the highly commercial Roosevelt Road (IL 38) corridor for the Village of Lombard. Watermain lining was the selected alternative based on various physical constraints, constructability issues, and public and property impacts. Fer Pal Infrastructure is the lining contractor, and they hosted an on-site demonstration at the intersection of Roosevelt Road and Main Street in September. There was a lot of interest in the event, producing a good turnout including municipal public works as well as engineering staff and consultants. Watermain lining is a relatively new and innovative method of pipe rehabilitation that provides significant advantages to conventional construction in the right situations. This project involved challenging permitting, maintenance of traffic operations, and temporary watermain installation elements. Civiltech welcomes any questions or discussions about watermain lining as it may relate to your community’s needs. Please contact Jonathan Vana, P.E. at 630.878.1029 or jvana@civiltechinc.com.

Chicago Scholars: Onsite

In an ongoing collaboration with the Chicago Scholars organization, a group of Civiltech employees attended the Chicago Scholars Onsite Luncheon at Navy Pier on October 25. Civiltech was also one of the sponsors of the event.

At the luncheon, the group took a tour of the students’ college application interview event. Unlike the typical college application process, Chicago Scholars connects students from under-resourced communities to colleges directly, providing interviews with the best match colleges of the students’ picking. In the months leading up to the event, the organization helped students complete and submit their applications. Some students were even fortunate enough to receive their acceptance immediately after the interview. Schools awarded merit aid scholarships on the spot as well.

Civiltech is proud to sponsor and be involved with this amazing organization.

BETWEEN THE LINES | CIVILTECH ENGINEERING, INC.’S QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER | FALL 2016, ISSUE 32