Holidays Bring Cheer to Many through the Johnson County Christmas Bureau!

We’re pretty excited when it comes to the holidays and this year is no exception! The Monday after Thanksgiving found the office lit up like KC’s Country Club Plaza…well, maybe not quite like that, but sparkling nonetheless. Staffers decorated their various venues, and Harland Russell went all out with his own personal tree-lighting ceremony on the morning of December 6.

Thanks to our very generous GBA elves, gifts began to appear under Christmas trees in the lobbies as well. This year our gifts were earmarked for the Johnson County Christmas Bureau (JCCB), a non-profit, non-denominational agency created to provide the county’s low income families with everything from groceries and personal care items to clothes, books, and gifts for all ages. We delivered our gifts today!

While Johnson County has a reputation for affluence, the level of poverty has risen in these economic times and with it the number of families seeking assistance. The JCCB helps meet their needs with a Holiday Shop that serves more than 3,200 families, (more than 11,000 individuals) each year. Many are working families trying to make ends meet; more than 82 percent are women and children. And more than 600 nursing home residents are also served by the program. This year’s Holiday Shop is open through December 10, so if you act quickly you may still have time to donate!

If not now, however, then consider getting involved next year - you’ll feel the excitement too!

Happy holidays and best wishes for peace and prosperity in the New Year from all of us at GBA!

The Citizens of Olathe Are the Winners as City and GBA Are Recognized by ACEC Kansas with a ‘City Public Improvement Award’ for the South Cedar Creek Sewer Improvements



The ACEC Kansas “City Public Improvement Awards” recognize engineering projects for their benefit to the citizens of a community, so when this year’s award in the “50,000 and above” population category went to the City of Olathe and GBA for the South Cedar Creek Sewer Improvements, the citizens of Olathe were the real winners!

We'll be there, along with representatives from the City, when the awards are handed out at the Kansas Association of City/County Management’s Annual Conference in Topeka on December 1. The improvements provide sewer service to developing areas that will support the BNSF Railroad’s Intermodal Development in southwest Johnson County.

The new gravity sewer, forcemain, and a submersible pumping station are not only functional, but also sustainable and funded by a special sanitary sewer benefit district. The latter means that the citizens of Olathe will receive the long-term benefits of additional property tax income without incurring capital debt. Equally important is the environmentally sound method by which the project was planned, designed, and constructed.

The City and Johnson County have plans for a recreational trail along the stream that lies within the improvement corridor. As a result, special care was given to providing sustainable solutions, from alignment selection to reduce loss of large-diameter hardwood trees to minimizing the visual impact of the project along the stream corridor by alternating construction clearing limits on each side of the project centerline, and restoring the stream bank using bio-engineering techniques. Stream crossing locations were also carefully selected to minimize interceptor disruption by high velocities/scour.

The Lights Are Bright on Kansas City’s Broadway Bridge, Recognized by AIA Kansas City with a 2011 Design Excellence Award!

Mike Sinclair Photographer

We’re pleased that the Broadway Bridge over I-670 in downtown Kansas City has been recognized by AIA Kansas City with a 2011 Design Excellence Award in the Merit Awards category! This standout bridge replaces a deteriorating structure to provide better vehicular and pedestrian access between Kansas City’s ever changing Central Business District and a vibrant area to the south that includes the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and the Crossroads Arts District.

The bridge supports the effort to encourage walkability in the City by providing wider sidewalks, ADA accessibility, and improved crosswalk signalization. But what really caught the AIA’s eye was the focus on the pedestrian experience. GBA, the engineer on the project, brought in el dorado inc. to focus on architectural and artistic enhancements to the bridge. The result? A pedestrian railing that employs a three-layered system of galvanized mesh that, combined with color and light, adds eye-catching appeal to this prominent public improvement! What’s more, portions of the pedestrian barrier contain two-inch thick yellow acrylic panels that buffer noise from the vehicles traveling below and create a visual experience that changes throughout the day!   Congratulations to all involved!

MoDOT Partners with UMKC to Provide Students, Including GBA’s Chris Farney, with Hands-On Experience! Ribbon Cutting Celebrates Partnership!

 In early 2010, MoDOT partnered with the University of Missouri, Kansas City (UMKC) to give engineering students an opportunity to receive hands-on experience while creating designs to improve traffic operations at intersections along Missouri Route 50. Chris Farney, an engineering intern who joined GBA’s Highways/Streets Group in May, was one of those students!

Chris, a Kansas City area native, earned a B.S. degree in civil engineering from UMKC in 2010 and completed his M.S. degree, also in civil engineering, at UMKC this year. He also has a B.A. degree in psychology from the University of Kansas!

Chris Farney

According to Chris, the first semester involved a study with findings and recommendations presented to MoDOT. During the second semester, designs were completed and submitted for review. “It really helped prepare me for my work here at GBA,” Chris said. “MoDOT actually used some of our ideas and design work in the final design. It was really cool getting to see something that I helped design actually built!”

A ribbon cutting yesterday celebrated the partnership and the safety enhancements that resulted from it. The $2.5 million project enhances traffic operations and improves safety at seven intersections, providing smoother, wider pavement and additional lighting at all intersections. New turn lanes and acceleration lanes were added at some of the busier intersections.



'Chilimaster' Cook-Off Heats Up Halloween



Some of our best dressed, from left, Tim Ross, Coleen Parnell,
Karen Scherer, and Matt Kersten



Each Halloween a panel of brave GBA judges has the somewhat dubious pleasure of taste testing as many as 40 different chili and soup recipes to determine the recipients of the Golden Ladle trophy, and this year was no exception!

Chili winner Paul Miller (right) receives the
Golden Ladle from last year's winner Bryan Rasmussen



The annual “Chilimaster Cook-Off”…actually a soup category has been added since the contest originated but the name remains unchanged…attracts a group of enthusiastic GBAers who vie for trophies and bragging rights. It’s all in fun, as we enjoy the fare including some pretty tasty dogs, brats, burgers, and much, much more.

Congratulations to this year's winners!   

Chilimasters

Bryan Rasmussen, who took home the gold in the soup
category, is shown with 3rd place winner Coleen Parnell.

1st Place Paul Miller

2nd Place Kiel Johnson

3rd Place Tie Josh Tedder & Tim Ross

Soupmasters

1st Place Bryan Rasmussen

2nd Place Clarence Munsch

3rd Place Coleen Parnell

Looking for a recipe for more durable concrete? A new video explains how the Kansas City Metro Materials Board (KCMMB) can help!

Click on the arrow above to view the video

The Kansas City Metro Materials Board (KCMMB) has launched a new video designed to introduce potential members to the benefits of standardized materials specifications for durable concrete on public works projects. This concrete alternative focuses on life-cycle costs rather than first costs. It’s the culmination of more than three years of research by municipalities to discover and prevent the causes of premature cracking and deterioration of pavement, sidewalks, curbs, and storm drainage inlets.

KCMMB is a cooperative effort of public works organizations in the KC Metro area. The KCMMB goal is to propose standardized material specifications and to simplify the approval process with the assistance of the KCMMB web site. GBA helps by maintaining the web site and reviewing concrete mix design submittals for compliance. 

Take a look at the video to see just what KCMMB can do for you, or visit the KCMMB website to learn more!

Ribbon-Cutting Marks Successful Completion of Interchange at K-7 and Johnson Drive/55th Street

What can we say! It was a beautiful day for a celebration as dignitaries officially cut the ribbon signaling the successful completion of the new interchange at K-7 and Johnson Drive/55th Street in Shawnee, Kansas. Shawnee’s Mill Valley High School Marching Band created a festive air for the perfect fall day, while a gaggle of 5th graders from nearby Prairie Ridge Elementary School clapped and cheered.

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback described the project as “wonderful” and proclaimed that “it provides an atmosphere for growth.” Kansas Secretary of Transportation Deb Miller agreed, saying “There’s nothing I enjoy quite as much as the opportunity to celebrate a success, and that’s certainly what this is.”

Other speakers included U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, U.S. Congressman Kevin Yoder, Kansas Secretary of Revenue Nick Jordan, and Shawnee Mayor Jeff Meyers. All praised the work that had been done and its exciting implications for economic growth in Shawnee, Johnson County, and all along the K-7 corridor. 

Many members of the GBA project team turned out to celebrate a job well done! Principal Clarence Munsch and Project Manager Todd Jones took to the stage for a second ribbon-cutting ceremony recognizing the firm’s engineering design of the $21.4 million project.

Safety concerns and capacity issues prompted KDOT to initiate the project, which replaced an at-grade signalized intersection with the new interchange. The project included new bridges on K-7 over Johnson Drive/55th Street as well as a much-talked-about roundabout below the bridges, where K-7 on- and off-ramps merge with Johnson Drive/55th

Street. A second roundabout west of K-7 at the intersection of 55th Street with Hedge Lane Terrace was also part of the project. Two related projects are still under construction.

According to Governor Brownback, “The investment here and along the K-7 corridor …will provide important economic return and job creation for the region and state. But the return…won’t just be in dollars and jobs; the improved roads also will be measured in fewer crashes fewer injuries, and fewer fatalities.”

Congratulations to all involved in this very important project!