OSBEELS News

Latest News Stories

May Board Meeting to be held at Portland State University

4/18/2019

The upcoming Oregon State Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying (OSBEELS) Board meeting on May 14 will be held at Portland State University in the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science’s Board Room. The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. and will be held in conjunction with PSU’s College of Engineering.

The Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science is located on 1930 SW 4th Ave, Portland, OR 97201. Public parking is available at the College of Engineering and on surrounding streets. We’d like to remind interested individuals to be aware of parking rates and the allotted amount of time for public parking on specific roads. Registrants and the public are encouraged to attend this special Board meeting.

ACEC Announces 2019 Engineering Excellence Award Recipients

4/18/2019

The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of Oregon announced its 2019 Engineering Excellence Award winners earlier this year and featured winners from across the state. The annual design competition recognizes the state’s projects and engineering firms that demonstrate innovation, value, and complexity. The 2019 ‘Project of the Year’ recipient was the Vancouver Waterfront Park renovation project that solved a 75-year-old problem for the city of Vancouver – connecting the city center to the Columbia River.

Project of the Year: Vancouver Waterfront Park

Firms: BergerABAM (prime consultant, project manager, structural engineer); GRI (geotechnical engineering); Martin/Martin Consulting Engineers (structural engineering - pier superstructure); PBS Engineering and Environmental (civil engineering)

Summary: Thanks to the work of BergerABAM, GRI, Martin/Martin Consulting Engineers, and PBS Engineering, the City of Vancouver is now reconnected with the Columbia River for the first time in 75 years. Formally an industrial paper mill site, the new Vancouver Waterfront Park now spans 7.3 acres and provides public access to the river, plazas, and an urban beach. The $24.2 million project, which opened to the public last September, took six years to complete and works as the main public amenity of the City of Vancouver’s $1 billion waterfront revitalization program.

The project faced many obstacles rooted in the area’s industrial background and because of the park’s shoreline running adjacent to a high-wave energy section of the Columbia River. These obstacles were overcome through extensive shoreline restoration, creative engineering solutions, and a robust environmental planning and permitting process overseen by BergerABAM. The Vancouver Waterfront Park project’s landmark structure is the Grant Street Pier, a concrete, cable-styled structure that stretches out almost 100 feet over the Columbia River.

BergerABAM enlisted the help of numerous local firms and consultants to transform the former industrial site into a beautifully-designed, easily-accessible park that now connects the city center and the riverfront for the first time in nearly a century.

Other Award Winners include:

Best in Category: Transportation – Nehalem River Bridge Replacement

Submitting Firm: Otak Inc.

Small Project Award – Sandy River Log Jams

Submitting Firms: Wolf Water Resources (lead consultant); Natural Systems Design (modeling, engineered log jams design); Biohabitat (contractor)

Grand Award – The Dalles Wastewater Treatment Plan Progressive Design-Build Phase 2 Upgrades

Submitting Firm: Kennedy/Jenks

Grand Award – West Vancouver Freight Access

Submitting Firm: HDR

Grand Award – NE Alpine Avenue Reconstruction

Submitting Firm: HDR

Grand Award – Beaver Creek Fish Passage

Submitting Firm: Anderson Perry & Associates

OSBEELS 2019 Symposium: Upgrade Set to Showcase Industry Excellence and Celebrate 100-Year Anniversary

4/18/2019

Advancement in the fields of engineering, land surveying, and water rights examination has taken many different forms. Progress in these fields has helped cities and industries overcome problems that have existed for decades. Innovation allows professionals to collaborate with one another to approach complex projects with a combination of skill, creativity, and refined techniques. Professionals today are pioneering new methods for problem solving, collaborating, and accommodating change.

Join OSBEELS at the 2019 Symposium as we celebrate our 100-Year anniversary and showcase a century’s worth of industry excellence, accomplishments, and the advancements that have changed how Oregonians live, work, and experience our state.

Stay up-to-date on all the Symposium updates through oregon.gov/osbeels/aboutus/Pages/2019-Symposium.aspx

Budget Hearing Scheduled

4/11/2019

The Oregon State Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying will hold a Budget Hearing at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, May 10, 2019. This Hearing is to solicit public feedback on the Board’s 2019 – 2021 biennial budget. Feedback will be presented to the full Board during their May 14, 2019 meeting.

The Hearing is open to the public and interested parties are encouraged to attend in the Conference Room of the OSBEELS office at 670 Hawthorne Avenue SE, Suite 220 Salem, OR 97301.

The meeting location is accessible to person with disabilities. A request for an interpreter for the hearing impaired or for other accommodations for persons with disabilities should be made to OSBEELS at (503) 362-2666.

The proposed budget can be downloaded here.