Thursday, May 27, 2010

Running and Biking Events

Garver employees are planning to participate in many upcoming biking and riding events. The below list is organized by rides near Garver office locations.

Fayetteville, Arkansas
ASPE 5k Firecracker Run: (July 10) - 5k run

Huntsville, Alabama
2010 Cotton Row Run: (May 31) - 1-mile, 5k, and 10k runs
HiWAAY Huntsville Sprint Triathlon: (Aug. 21) - 400-meter swim, 6-mile ride, 3-mile run
Rocket City Marathon: (Dec. 11) - 26-mile footrace

North Little Rock, Arkansas
Tour de Hoot: (June 5) - Bike rides from 25 to 100 miles
CARTI Tour de Rock: (June 12) - Family fun ride and 100-mile advanced ride with 30, 50, and 62-mile turn-arounds
Tour de Oink Bike Ride: (June 26) - 14 and 40-mile rides
Big Dam Bridge 100: (Sept. 25) - 12, 30, 50, 75, and 100-mile rides
Arkansas MS 150: (Sept. 11-12) - Pedal to the top of Petit Jean

Tulsa and Norman, Oklahoma
Red River Roadkill Rally: (June 5) - 20, 40, and 60-mile rides
Baptist Children's Home Ride: (June 19) - 5, 10.5, 27, 44, and 56-mile rides
Tour of Payne: (July 5) - 26, 36, 62, and 100-mile rides
Norman Conquest: (July 17) - 26, 45, 62.5-mile rides
Spin Your Wheels: (Aug. 14) - 12, 23, 50, 62, 100-mile rides

Frisco, Texas
Hotter'N Hell Hundred: (Aug. 26-29) - 25, 50, 62, and 100-mile rides

Monday, May 24, 2010

Bike to Work Champs

More than 20 Garver employees in our North Little Rock, Arkansas office participated in this year's Bike to Work Week event hosted by the Bicycle Advocacy of Central Arkansas. For the second year in a row, Garver won the trophy for the largest percentage of riders in our business size.

Also, Garver's Fayetteville, Arkansas office is defending its title as the highest average ridership in the city's biker commuter challenge. This year, seven Garver riders participated in Bike to Work Week events. The winning business will be announced on Friday. Project Engineer Brandon Bynum had the furthest commute - 15 miles one way.

Later this week I'll post a list of upcoming biking and running events across our region.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Emergency Design in Nashville

Garver is providing emergency design services to help Nashville, Tennessee recover from its recent devastating flooding.

Metro Nashville Water notified Garver Tuesday evening that they'd hired Garver to provide structural and geotechnical evaluation of the Warner Park Valley Reservoir's tank and access roads. Garver has teamed with Geotek, and services include assessing and documenting damage, recommending and designing a solution, and providing assistance during construction of the remedy.

Within two business hours of Metro Nashville Water's request, member's of Garver's Water Group, Rob Lantz, Robert Pride, Jerry McCarley, and Kevin Kennoy, met on site with Metro Nashville Water Project Manager Shan Miller to review the present site conditions and to begin to formulate remedial plans.

The Warner Park Reservoir was damaged by recent flooding in Tennessee, which the Army Corps of Engineers has described as a 1,000-year flood event. Nashville broke rainfall records during the storm. From May 1-2, 13.57 inches fell, doubling the record of 6.68 inches. This resulted in the Cumberland River cresting at 51.86 feet in Nashville, a level not seen since 1937.

By May 2, Nashville had already exceeded the most rainfall ever recorded in May. Current estimated damages exceed $1.9 billion and is expected to grow.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

New Transmission Line

Garver's Energy Services Group has completed design of a 4.5-mile 69kV transmission line for Siloam Springs, Arkansas. The design, using galvanized steel poles, completes a loop with dual feed and sectionalizing capability around the city. The transmission line increases system reliability and provides additional capacity for the next 20 years. Siloam Springs is self-building the project, and it should be completed by the end of 2010. Garver also provided route studies, environmental assessment and permitting, and various surveys.

Garver's Energy Services Group is also beginning work on two major energy projects in Bentonville, Arkansas. Those include design, surveying, and construction phase services for a 4-mile, 161kV transmission line and a new 161kV substation.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Defending Our Trophy

National Bike to Work Week is this week!

Last year, Garver's North Little Rock, Arkansas office won the trophy for the largest percentage of riders in our business size. The Bicycle Advocacy of Central Arkansas is again holding a Bike to Work Rally on Friday, so let's pump those pedals and defend our title as commuter challenge champion!

Also last year, Garver's Fayetteville, Arkansas office had the highest average ridership in the large workplace category during the biker commuter challenge. This year, fill out a Bike to Work Week Commuter Challenge Form and help Garver win again. This challenge is based on a company's percentage of bicycle commuters and the longest single commute.

Also in Fayetteville, the Bike to Work Week Proclamation and Ride has been rescheduled to today. It begins at 5 p.m. at the Fayetteville Square near the Town Center on Mountain Street. The casual urban trail bicycle ride to Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers will depart at 5:30 p.m.

In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Bike to Work Day is May 21.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, the city has a week of biking opportunities.

For Nashville, Tennessee bikers, visit this month-long bike event calendar to see how you can participate.

You may also visit Google to use their bicycling directions to find the best route to your job.

If you have additional information you’d like to add to this blog about Bike to Work Week opportunities within our region, please contact me. Happy biking!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Outstanding Member

The Society of American Military Engineers-Tulsa Post has recognized Garver Regional Marketing Administrator Cindy Gran as its annual 2009 outstanding member. Cindy received the honor for her services as Communications Chair and Newsletter Editor. Cindy is serving in the same roles again this year.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Bringing Down the Bridge

This Oklahoma Department of Transportation video shows the demolition of a section of the Oklahoma State Highway 51 bridge across the Verdigris River. Multiple truss spans were removed by synchronized explosions to make room for plate girder main spans across the navigation channel, which is part of the Arkansas River System.

Garver designed the new eastbound, two-lane bridge over the Verdigris River. Garver's services included preparing detailed roadway, right-of-way, and bridge plans, traffic engineering and construction control, and surveys.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Top 500 Design Firm!

For the 24th time, Engineering News-Record has named Garver as a Top 500 Design Firm nationwide. Companies are ranked according to revenue for design services performed in 2009. Garver continues to rise in the rankings. Over the past two years, Garver has moved up 200 spots.

ENR reported that few U.S. construction markets have been spared in the economic downturn. Below is a list of statistics compiled by ENR as it reviewed the top design firms in 2010:

  • The Top 500 had overall design revenue down 11.7 %
  • Of the 458 firms appearing in both this year's Top 500 and the 2009 list, 323 (70.5 %) reported a decline in design revenue
  • The hardest hit markets were industrial (down 40.2 %), telecommunications (down 20.6 %), and general building (down 20.1 %)
  • Other markets remained flat: Sewer and waste (down 1.3 %), manufacturing (down 0.8 %), water (down 0.2 %), and transportation (down 0.1 %)
  • Out of 488 domestic firms, 305 reported a decrease in professional staff
  • Out of 456 firms, 101 reported a higher backlog of work
  • A number of large design firms ranked high in 2009's list were removed this year. The firms that closed included CMX (#97) and Cubellis Inc. (#189)

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