Vincent DiFilippo Nature Preserve Honored as Top Project

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The Central Penn Business Journal has named recent enhancements to the Vincent DiFilippo Nature Preserve one of the region’s Top Projects. HRG worked with Silver Spring Township to restore wetlands and meadows, add new riparian buffer plantings, increase parking, and add a boat launch at the preserve. These improvements simultaneously help the township meet its MS4 pollutant reduction plan goals and nurture wildlife while improving the recreational experience for township residents.

 

Shawn Fabian with Silver Spring Township's Jennifer Groller, Carl Machamer, and Scott Maldonado at the Central Penn Business Journal Top Projects Award ceremony

Shawn Fabian with Silver Spring Township’s Jennifer Groller, Carl Machamer, and Scott Maldonado

 

The nature preserve was already a popular place for birdwatching and nature walks, but, thanks to this project, it now has more shade, more wildlife viewing opportunities, and more aesthetically pleasing views with colorful flowers and plantings that simultaneously reduce watershed pollution. It is a bit of a natural oasis in the middle of one of the state’s most rapidly growing suburbs, and the boat launch creates a new convenient access point to one of the region’s treasured recreational amenities: the Conodoguinet Creek Water Trail. An expanded parking area makes it all more accessible to users, allows for buses to more easily turn around in the parking area to facilitate environmental education programing, and created two new ADA compliant parking spots for easier trail and boat launch access.

The project is a great example of how investments in the environment and recreational amenities go hand-in-hand where there is smart planning and thoughtful design. Silver Spring Township has made wise investments in long-term planning, so that each project they do – big or small – supports the community’s long-term goals. These plans have helped them attract extensive grant funding, including more than $252,000 for the nature preserve enhancements in addition to the grant funding that the Chesapeake Bay Foundation brought to the table from grants they secured for the riparian buffer along the Conodoguinet Creek onsite.

We’re grateful to work with Silver Spring Township and be a part of great projects like this. Congratulations to the township on this recognition and to all of the project partners, including the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, LandStudies, and KLA Roofing & Construction. Thank you to Shawn Fabian and everyone on the HRG team who contributed their time and talent to making this a successful project, including Aaron Moyer, JJ Robinson, Jake Hoffman, Eric Fleisher, Terry Meek, Katie Valla, Lauren Zumbrun.

Stephanie Milewski Joins HRG as Senior Project Manager

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Stephanie Milewski stands in front of a rock retaining wall, wearing a white jacket and floral print blouse.Stephanie Milewski has joined HRG as a landscape architect and senior project manager. She has more than 20 years of experience in the design of parks, trails and other recreational spaces.  She also assists with landscape design and regulatory compliance related to stormwater management.

Milewski is the current president of the Pennsylvania-Delaware Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects and a member of the planning committee for the Northeast Pennsylvania Trails Forum. She is also a member of the transportation advisory committee of the Lackawanna/Luzerne Metropolitan Planning Organization and a former vice-president and current member of the North Pocono Trails Association..

Milewski formerly served as the trail manager and environmental program officer for the Lackawanna Heritage Valley National and State Heritage Area, implementing a long-range plan for the Lackawanna Heritage Trail and helping to secure more than $7 million in grant funding for the project.

HRG assistant vice president Tim Staub said, “Stephanie is driven by the impact of recreational facilities in people’s lives and works to create spaces where people create lasting memories.  I’m excited to partner with her to help communities develop outdoor recreation economies in a sustainable and resilient way.”

HRG Names Land Development Practice Area Leader: Nichole Mendinsky

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Nichole Mendinsky Honored Among Foremost Under 40

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Nichole MendinskyNichole Mendinsky was recently honored by Pennsylvania Business Central as one of the area’s Foremost under 40.  This annual ranking recognizes young professionals with an exceptional work ethic and inspiring stories who editors expect will be the next generation of business leaders and innovators. This year’s honorees are featured in the November 22, 2019 edition of the newspaper.

Mendinsky is a registered landscape architect and team leader at Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, Inc (HRG). She has 12 years of experience planning and designing community spaces such as parks and recreation facilities, plazas and courtyards, as well as institutional campuses. Her passion is bringing people from diverse backgrounds together to support a common vision for the betterment of a community, and she is particularly skilled at public engagement, facilitation, sustainable design, and revitalization initiatives.  In her spare time, she volunteers for the Nittany Valley Joint Recreation Authority in Bellefonte Borough.

 

ABOUT HRG

Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, Inc. (HRG) is a nationally ranked design firm providing civil engineering, surveying, and environmental services. The firm was founded in Harrisburg in 1962 and has grown to employ more than 200 people in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. For more information, please visit the website at www.hrg-inc.com.

 

ABOUT PENNSYLVANIA BUSINESS CENTRAL

Pennsylvania Business Central is a monthly publication covering business news in a 20-county area across Central Pennsylvania.  The publication was first issued in 1991 and has a circulation of more than 10,000 people.

Park Boulevard Realignment and Fort Hunter Park Enhancements Honored as Premier Projects by Dauphin County

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Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, Inc. (HRG) is pleased to announce that two of our projects have been selected by Dauphin County in its annual Premier Projects award program.

Since its inception six years ago, the Dauphin County Premier Projects program has honored more than two dozen projects that promote smart growth and spark revitalization throughout the region. Among this year’s honorees, HRG provided engineering services for two of them: enhancements to Fort Hunter Park and realignment of Park Boulevard.

Park Boulevard

A broad range of local leaders from Derry Township, Dauphin County, and area businesses worked together on the realignment of Park Boulevard to support future economic development in Hershey.  The new roadway provides several safety improvements:

  • It replaces a 60-year old bridge over Spring Creek, which was structurally deficient and weight-restricted.
  • It converts a narrow roadway beneath the Norfolk-Southern underpass from two-way traffic to one-way traffic. This reduces the potential for vehicular accidents and allows for the installation of a sidewalk that is segregated from through traffic.
  • It improves emergency response time by adding a roadway connection from northbound Park Boulevard.  (Previously, first responders had to drive a circuitous route through several intersections to access this area. Now crews can reach the area 2-3 minutes faster.)
  • It provides a new shared-use sidewalk that will enhance safety for pedestrians traveling to Hershey’s attractions from downtown.
  • It adds a safe zone for people boarding and exiting buses at the Hershey Intermodal Transportation Center. This zone is physically protected from through-traffic.

Park Boulevard realignment wins Premier Project award

Front Row: Chuck Emerick, Matt Weir, John Foley, Susan Cort, Justin Engle
Back Row: Chris Brown, Patrick O’Rourke, John Payne, Brian Emberg, Tom Mehaffie, III, Matt Lena, Lauren Zumbrun

Fort Hunter Park

Fort Hunter Park seamlessly blends new amenities with environmental protection and a celebration of the area’s history and wildlife. The enhanced park includes two new boat launches that provide access to Fishing Creek and the Susquehanna River, new pedestrian paths, new seating to enjoy the scenic views, and new outdoor gathering spaces to accommodate park festivals.  It also includes expanded parking to make it easier for locals to access and enjoy these new park features.

To protect the scenic and tranquil environmental setting, engineers used innovative techniques to collect and treat stormwater like porous pavement. They also replaced two paved median areas with soil, stone and native plantings to retain and filter stormwater runoff while enhancing the appearance of the roadway. A new basin for collecting stormwater is designed to blend with the adjoining woodland edge, and herbaceous plantings and indigenous trees help to improve a local habitat area.

Signage in the enhanced habitat area describes local wildlife for park users, while other signs in the park inform visitors of past river activities such as Native American gatherings, early transportation, and coal reclamation.

Fort Hunter Park wins Premier Project award

Chad Gladfelter, Carl Dickson, John Hershey, Matt Bonanno, Steve Deck

ABOUT HRG

Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, Inc. (HRG) is a nationally ranked design firm providing civil engineering, surveying, and environmental services. The firm was founded in Harrisburg in 1962 and has grown to employ more than 200 people in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia.  For more information, please visit the website at www.hrg-inc.com.

 

Van Voorhis Trailhead Project Creates Recreational Resource Out of Former Brownfield

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VV_100_2311HRG is proud to have worked with the Monongahela River Trails Conservancy on converting a remediated brownfield site into a popular trailhead on the Mon River Rail-Trail in Star City, West Virginia.  Formerly the site of a glass manufacturing facility, Monongalia County Commission completed remediation of the site in 2012, paving the way for this formerly contaminated property to be converted into a valuable recreational resource for one of the fastest-growing residential areas in the region.

HRG provided engineering services to the Mon River Trails Conservancy (MRTC) to double the rail-trail parking on the former Quality Glass Company site  and install the first “Sweet Smelling Toilet” along the nearly 4-mile long trail.  This waterless toilet was originally designed by the U.S. Forest Service, and, when properly sited and vented, eliminates the odor and insect problems typically associated with traditional outhouse facilities.

The Van Voorhis Trailhead project was a collaboration of many community partners, including the Town of Star City, the Monongalia County Commission, the North Central Brownfield Center, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, the West Virginia Department of Highways and the Mon River Trails Conservancy.

It was partially funded by a grant from the Federal Highway Administration’s Recreational Trails Program, as administered by the West Virginia Department of Transportation, Division of Highways.

 

ABOUT HRG

Originally founded in 1962, HRG has grown to be a nationally ranked Top 500 Design Firm, providing civil engineering, surveying and environmental services to public and private sector clients. The 200-person employee-owned firm currently has office locations in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia.

Tourist Attraction & Engineering Landmark Recognized with ENR Mid-Atlantic Best Project Award

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The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources (DCNR) and Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, Inc. (HRG) are pleased to announce that the Kinzua Sky Walk project, a tourist attraction and civil engineering landmark located in McKean County, Pa., was submitted for and recognized with Engineering News-Record’s (ENR) prestigious Mid-Atlantic’s Best Project award in the small projects under $10 million category. This annual award program honors the region’s “best achievements in design and construction.”

The 2,000 foot long and 301 foot high Kinzua Viaduct was the longest and tallest railroad viaduct in the world when built in 1882, and eventually became registered as a national civil engineering historic landmark. Through a DCNR initiative, a 2002 inspection by HRG revealed deterioration to the tower columns and anchor system which made it susceptible to high winds. An emergency design-build rehabilitation project was implemented in 2003 but with only half of the structure repairs completed, the viaduct was struck by an F1 tornado on July 21, 2003 and the unrepaired portions of the structure collapsed.

Overcoming accessibility and constructability challenges due to the project’s unique location, officials, contractors and a team of HRG’s engineers championed the restoration of the damaged structure to safely support pedestrian access and encourage increased tourism to the site. Now known as the “Kinzua Sky Walk”, a new and innovative element was introduced to the structure that involved a steel framed, octagon observation deck with a glass floor (similar to the Grand Canyon Sky Walk) at its center to permit viewing and observation of the support structure.

“The six towers of the original viaduct have been restored, with the addition of a pedestrian walkway with a partial glass floor that extends out into the Kinzua Gorge,” DCNR Secretary Richard J. Allan said. “The idea to stabilize the structure came in to play soon after the tornado struck. Understanding that this is an important tourist attraction in McKean County, DCNR felt it was important to continue to tell the story of its history, construction and destruction and to invest in this signature destination within the Pennsylvania Wilds region.”

“The circumstances and various challenges that arose throughout the duration of the project may have been unpredictable at times,” said Brian D. Emberg, P.E., who managed this project for HRG. “But the Kinzua Sky Walk rehabilitation and restoration project is representative of a true engineering landmark and piece of history for visitors and residents of this region, and we are particularly proud to have played a role in its successful completion.”

The judging criteria for the award focused on overcoming significant challenges; adopting innovative approaches; executing exceptional design and craftsmanship, and maintaining safe sites. This one-of-a-kind project will be recognized in a special Mid-Atlantic edition of ENR in December 2012 and at a ceremony on December 11, 2012 in Baltimore, Md. In addition, the project now advances to a national ENR’s Best Project Competition. For more information and photographs on the Kinzua Sky Walk project, please click here.

 

ABOUT DCNR

Established on July 1, 1995, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is charged with maintaining 120 state parks; managing 2.2 million acres of state forest land; providing information on the state’s ecological and geologic resources; and establishing community conservation partnerships with grants and technical assistance to benefit rivers, trails, greenways, local parks and recreation, regional heritage parks, open space and natural areas. For more information visit www.dcnr.state.pa.us.

ABOUT HRG

Originally founded in 1962, HRG has grown to be a nationally ranked Top 500 Design Firm, providing civil engineering, surveying and environmental services to public and private sector clients. The 200-person employee-owned firm currently has office locations in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia.