Cole Names Chief Engineer for Idaho Transportation Department

A/E/C firms stay active in the region with personnel moves, including new hires, promotions and achievement recognition.

Tom Cole, who has served the transportation community in eastern Idaho the past two decades, has been named chief engineer for the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) in Rigby.

ITD director Pam Lowe announced the selection of Cole, the District 6 engineer since 2000, in May. Cole will assume leadership of highway maintenance and expansion Aug. 1, succeeding Steve Hutchinson, who will retire this month. He will head the Division of Highways, supervising 1,329 people. At District 6, he supervised 164 employees in Bonneville, Butte, Clark, Custer, Fremont, Jefferson, Lemhi, Madison and Teton counties.

In his new capacity, Cole will be responsible for highways in all six of ITD's geographic regions as well as highway programming, Office of Highway Operations and Safety, Highway Development (Bridge, Environmental, Right‑of‑way, Design and Consultant Administration), and Operations (Construction, Materials, Research, Maintenance, Traffic). He will serve as a member of ITD's executive management team and will report to ITD Deputy Director Scott Stokes.

During his eight‑year tenure as district (head) engineer of District 6, which is headquartered in Rigby, Cole made consistent improvements in district planning and operations.

"Tom's wealth of experience will enable the transportation department to continue moving forward in its efforts to create an efficient, responsive transportation system in Idaho," Lowe said. "He will be very important to our success at ITD."

Cole began his career at the transportation department in 1982 as a highway designer in Boise. Five years later he transferred to Materials in District 6 in Rigby, where he began ascending the ranks to district engineer. He was promoted to Region 1 engineer in 1996, assistant district engineer in 1998 and became district engineer in October 2000.

Sunrise Engineering, Inc. in Draper, Utah recently hired Andrew Robinson as a project engineer. Robinson will be responsible for the mechanical division currently operating under the electrical group within Sunrise. Also, he will expand Sunrise’s experience in process and control and the cement industry. Robinson provides support in process, control, equipment recommendation and design in both large and small manufacturing projects. He and his group bring technical expertise to improve HVAC design and control at Sunrise.

“Andrew comes to us with solid credentials as a process engineer as well as client relations,” said Dave Lund, principal electrical engineer. “We are excited to have him as a member of our team of qualified engineers and technicians. With his experience and know-how we look forward to many opportunities to serve light and heavy industrial clients.”

Robinson graduated from Brigham Young University in 1993 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. From 1999 to 2001, he served as mayor and city administrator for Levan, Utah. He has over 14 years of experience as a project engineer and manager. Included in his past projects, he has been responsible for control systems including high level control and operational optimization. He has overseen mining projects and interfaced with state and federal agencies. Robinson has several certifications and registrations including being a registered professional engineer in Utah.

Big-D Construction Corp. of Salt Lake City hired Jonathan Biesinger as a project manager in the company’s Lindon office. Biesinger has spent eight years in the construction industry, acquiring experience in project management. Several of his past projects include Jordan Valley Hospital, Pioneer Valley Hospital, Steven’s Henager College, HCA Technology and Davis Hospital. Prior to working as a project manager Biesinger attended Brigham Young University, where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management.

Big-D also promoted Leon Nelson to operations manager in the company's Lindon office. With 17 years of construction experience, Nelson has been with Big-D for more than a year as a senior project manager. Some of his past projects include Rio Tinto Distribution Center, Banner Baywood Medical Center tower expansion, Redlands California Temple, National Seed Storage Laboratory, and a data processing research and training facility. He has a bachelor's degree in accounting from Utah State University.

Jim Roletto has been promoted to office manager of David Evans and Associates, Inc.'s (DEA) Spokane, Wash., and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, offices. Roletto joined DEA in August 2007 after a 20-year career with the Idaho Department of Transportation. Since joining DEA, Roletto has been developing construction engineering services for DEA in Idaho and within the Rocky Mountain region. Roletto has a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Gonzaga University and is a registered civil engineer in Idaho.

“Jim’s leadership skills and broad experience made him an ideal candidate for office manager,” said Joe Hart, DEA’s Rocky Mountain regional manager. “Though we had not initially hired him into this important position, he quickly gained the trust of the office management team while expanding our client base and diversified our practice throughout the region.”

The Spokane and Coeur d’Alene offices of DEA have worked on many notable projects within the community. DEA’s Spokane and Salem, Ore. offices were retained to manage and design the Monroe Street Bridge rehabilitation project, and DEA’s Spokane office worked on the design of Mirabeau Meadows, located at the north end of Mirabeau Point.

Boise-based CSHQA announced that Alyssa Yensen has recently earned her Idaho state

license to practice landscape architecture. Yensen earned her Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from the University of Idaho in May 2003. She joined the firm in 2005, and assists CSHQA in providing services to major clients in the Salt Lake City area

and nationwide. Alyssa is currently working on the Idaho State Capitol renovation, a master plan for the Hubbard Reservoir Recreation Area, and an Oregon Trail Recreation Center master plan.

Her experience includes formulating concept designs, site plans, plan view renderings, standard and water conscious planting and irrigation plans. Projects range from implementing large-scale planting plans for facilities such as airports and

housing developments, to designing and detailing items such as playgrounds, water playgrounds, amphitheaters, sidewalk paving patterns, and special features for facilities such as parks and streetscapes.

Green Construction of North Salt Lake announced today that the company has hired Timothy Pickett as estimator. CFO Micah Green commented on Pickett’s appointment noting that “Tim not only brings 10 years of experience in the industry, but a specialization in large pipe-oriented projects.”

Pickett has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah and has worked for M.C. Green & Sons, Inc. in the past, in addition to working the past two years on his own in the commercial and residential construction industry.

Current projects Pickett will assist with include Blacksmith Fork, a 15-acre industrial subdivision, River Bend Industrial Park in North Salt Lake, and Tuscany Village, a large residential project for Rainey Homes in Centerville.

Eric Petersen, vice president of Business Development for Contractor’s Northwest, Inc. (CNI), recently passed his certification exam to become North Idaho’s only nationally certified sustainable building advisor. Petersen pursued this certification to further enhance CNI’s Green Building expertise. CNI has offices in Coeur d’Alene and Boise, Idaho.

Salt Lake City-based structural engineering firm Dunn Associates has promoted the following individuals to new positions of responsibility within the firm.

Youra Zivait and Tait Ketcham are new principals within the firm. Zivait has 32 years experience and has worked on projects such as Intermountain Medical Center and Myriad Genetics. Ketcham has 12 years experience with projects such as the Uintah Recreational Center and the Center for Advanced Energy Studies.

Chris Olson and Frank Potter were made senior associates. Olson has 12 years experience; Potter 15 years. Olson has worked on projects like the UVU Library and the USU Health Laboratory; Potter has worked on Newpark Hotel and Great Lakes Cheese Factory.

Finally, Matt Jackson and Tyler Wright were named associates of the firm. Jackson is a seven-year veteran of the industry, while Wright has 16 years.

Salt Lake City-based MHTN Architects, Inc. has named two new senior associates at the firm. David N. Nilson has 14 years of experience, three years at MHTN. He is a member of the Council of Educational Facility Planners International and the Utah Facilities and Operational Maintenance Assn.

Margareta Hjorth-Vlasic has been at MHTN for seven years and has 20 years of professional experience. She specializes on K-12 education projects. She is a member of the Swedish Association of Architects.

Salt Lake City-based Envision Engineering welcomes Josh Wilde to its firm. A recent graduate of Utah State University, Wilde holds a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering. Prior to joining the Envision team, Wilde spent time in China as team leader of the Hongyuan, China team for “Engineers Without Borders” as well as overseeing the design and implementation of a solar lighting system for the Village of Salkantay, Peru. Previously employed with Global Controls, Wilde brings experience in solar lighting systems, fire alarm systems, and security controls systems.

PSI’s Salt Lake City office has added three people to its staff. Tricia Pilny is the new business development manager. Pilny’s area of expertise is in communications, high-level presentation skills and relationship-building. Sara Howe joins PSI as a new staff engineer. Howe is a graduate of the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Arts in Geography. Manuel Zea is also a new staff engineer. Zea earned his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana – Bogota, Columbia.