Briefs

Smooth operating

The Southwest Delaware County Municipal Authority, Aston, Pa., has selected locally based Brandywine Valley Engineers, a division of New York-based Vollmer Associates, to oversee the administration of the authority and the operation and maintenance of its 6 mgd treatment facility.

Water, water, everywhere

The Phoenix Engineering Department has selected Chesterfield, Mo.-based Affolder to construct the $60 million South Mountain Water Transmission Tunnel. Scheduled for completion in January 2002, the project will allow the city to expand water service to Ahwatukee, a fast-growing suburb.

Detroit’s Imlay Station Pumping Facility has purchased five ACS 1000 medium-voltage drives from Norwalk, Conn.-based ABB Automation to control its 5,000 – 6,000 hp variable-speed water pump motors.

The city and county of Honolulu have purchased software from Walnut Creek, Calif.-based Synergen to optimize their wastewater operations. The software will be used to manage the Department of Environmental Services’ wastewater collection, maintenance, and treatment and disposal systems on Oahu.

Getting there

The Kern Council of Governments, Kern County, Calif., has selected San Francisco-based URS to provide planning and engineering services for the Metropolitan Bakersfield Transportation Systems study. The company will evaluate potential transportation solutions for Bakersfield for the next 20 to 40 years.

Durango, Colo., has retained Wilbur Smith Associates, Salt Lake City, to conduct a parking analysis and feasibility study. The firm will assess the parking needs and infrastructure requirements of the town’s historic business district over the next 10 years.

Helix Environmental Planning has retained San Diego-based Ninyo & Moore to perform an initial site assessment for a proposed state route (SR-11) and East Otay Mesa port of entry in San Diego County, Calif. The assessment is part of the environmental review process required by the National Environmental Policy Act and California Environmental Quality Act.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission for the Greater San Francisco Bay Area has awarded a contract to San Diego-based Berryman & Henigar to update the pavement management systems of Martinez, Pleasant Hill and Danville. The firm will assess the condition of streets and develop a maintenance schedule.

The New York Board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has contracted with Siemens Transportation Systems, Sacramento, Calif., and New York-based E.A. Technologies/Petrocelli Electric to install and maintain a fiber optic communications network. The project will upgrade a communications system linking 188 subway stations of the New York City Rapid Transit System.

The Chicago Transit Authority has selected locally based O’Brien Kreitzberg to provide program management services for a five-year, $1.2-billion capital improvement program. The program will include design and construction of bus and rail stations, passenger facilities, bus garages, signal and communications systems, and train tracks.

And the winner is …

The Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, Chicago, has named Columbus, Ohio’s King Avenue Bridge “best bridge” in its 2000 Design Awards Program. The bridge, which was recognized in the category of bridges spanning 65 to 135 feet, crosses the Olentangy River and replaces a concrete arch bridge linking Columbus and Ohio State University. It was designed by Kansas City, Mo.-based HNTB and completed in 1999.

Harmon based in Golden Valley, Mont., has received the 2000 Washington Building Congress Craftsmanship Award for renovating and restoring the John A. Wilson Building in Washington, D.C. The project involved the construction of a curtain wall, which increased the area and functionality of the building. Glass handrails and new doors and entrances also were added inside the building.

The Detroit-based American Consulting Engineers Council of Michigan and the Michigan Society of Professional Engineers, Lansing, Mich., have presented an Honorable Conceptor Award for Engineering to Wilcox Associates, Cadillac, Mich. The firm was honored for designing and producing the construction layout for the reconstruction of six miles of I-275 in Detroit.

Phase I of the upgrade of the Jamaica Water Pollution Control Plant, designed by Wakefield, Mass.-based Metcalf & Eddy, has received the 2000 Award for Design Excellence from the New York Association of Consulting Engineers. The award recognizes engineering excellence in New York State.

Etc.

Florida Public Utilities, West Palm Beach, Fla., has purchased Enterprise CIS from Bend, Ore.-based Orcom Solutions. The system, scheduled to go online this year, will assist the utility in managing customer information and billing.

Company News

New York-based govWorks, an e-government service provider, has partnered with Bristol, Pa.-based iPlace, an Internet infrastructure provider. The partnership will allow govworks.com users to access iPlace’s community databases, which include information about housing, schools, houses of worship, cost of living, crime, climate and demographics. In addition, iPlace users will be able to pay tickets, bills and taxes using govWorks’ transactions services. govWorks also has partnered with Garden City, N.Y.-based election.com to provide online voter registration through the govWorks Web site.

Exelon Infrastructure Services, a subsidiary of Philadelphia-based PECO Energy, has acquired Dashiell, Deer Park, Texas; Dacon, Lake Charles, La.; Michigan Trenching Service, Ypsilanti, Mich.; and VSI Group, Columbia, Md. The transactions, totaling $95 million, will expand the company’s distribution infrastructure services for electric, gas, telecommunications and cable utilities.

ABS Pumps, a Meriden, Conn.-based pump manufacturer, has ac-quired CH&E Pumps, Milwaukee. The transaction expands the company’s product line to include centrifugal and diaphragm pumps featuring 2-inch to 6-inch discharge and 3/5 to 50 horsepower.

Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Synthetic Industries has changed the name of its Geosynthetic Products Di-vision to SI Geosolutions.

Los Angeles-based AECOM Technology and Beckenham, England-based Maunsell have reached an agreement with Vivendi Water for the purchase of Metcalf & Eddy, a water resources firm based in Wakefield, Mass.

Redlands, Calif.-based Environmental Systems Research Institute, a GIS software developer, and the Arlington, Va.-based Association for Biodiversity Information, a non-profit conservation organization, have partnered to develop a GIS-based data management system for the conservation community. The system will include analytical and visualization tools, field mapping and data entry tools, and spatial modeling predictive tools.

Pixxures, based in Golden, Colo., has purchased Calgary-based Boyd Geo-Matics, a Web-based provider of geospatial data, GIS software, aerial imagery and mapping products.

Safe at home

The Arlington Fire District in Reading, Pa., has purchased a service body from Reading Body Works, Shillington, Pa.

Plugged in

St. Peters, Mo., has retained St. Louis-based Systems Consultants to improve Internet-based payment options for residents and businesses.

The Hennepin County (Minn.) Department of Training and Employment Assistance has contracted with Plano, Texas-based EDS to provide case management and outcome tracking technology. The technology will strengthen the ability of case managers to provide employment counseling, vocational training and placement services for job seekers.

Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., has selected Seattle-based Tidemark Solutions to provide software that will automate the city’s permitting program.

Pinal County, Ariz., has selected Irvine, Calif.-based Robert Bein, William Frost and Associates to provide GIS services, including parcels and right-of-way research for 2,178 miles of roads.

Cook County, Ill., has purchased Denver-based J.D. Edwards’ OneWorld software to manage several countywide operations, including public safety, healthcare and highway maintenance.