HOME PORTFOLIO ABOUT US SERVICES NEWS AND INSIGHTS WHERE ARE WE TODAY CONTACT PEC NEWS and INSIGHTS September 21, 2020 Our best road? Cleveland Road, St. Helena Parish We like to talk about and show off the great highways, bridges, multi-lane, multi-use boulevards and roundabouts we’ve designed. However, while we were out taking pictures the other day, a man drove up and thanked us for the road in front of his house. That made us think; to that man, the best road we’ve designed may be that simple lane… the road home. We’re proud to design those lanes throughout St. Helena Parish to help its residents get to school, work, church … and home, safely. March 5, 2020 Why we Love Complete Streets We are fortunate to have already designed Complete Streets in New Orleans, which adopted the policy in 2011. We are also proud to help lead the way in Baton Rouge as one of four firms to undertake the first MoveBR projects. We will be including bike and pedestrian travel in our design of Groom Road in Baker, looking to make the street safer for all users. We’re also excited to watch designs emerge from our fellow engineers in the next decade of MoveBR road construction. We look forward to our future and are proud to help Baton Rouge and other cities in Louisiana design safer roadways, accessible to all. Cherokee Street; a Complete Street in New Orleans, with planter box, sidewalk, permeable parking surface. The biggest road building program in the history of East Baton Rouge – called MoveBR – kicked off earlier this year with the awarding for four large projects in which engineers are instructed to design upgrades under the Complete Streets concept. The Complete Streets design concept started with an annoying and risky bike ride. Barbara McGann, author of a recent book called “Completing our Streets,” loves to ride her bike with her husband, but experienced first-hand, while trying to navigate the roads in Atlanta, that neighborhoods and communities are not what they once were. We’ve migrated from small, rural communities to big, rushed cities; so getting around without a car is nearly impossible – and therefore not as fun or as inviting as in the past and certainly not as rich in lifestyle and sense of community. Holiday Drive, New Orleans So McGann began to promote the idea that urban communities ought to build-in safe travel for everyone in its roads by re-thinking basic road design. She founded the Compete Streets Coalition in 2003. Now city leaders across the nation – including New Orleans and Baton Rouge – have embraced her ideas. The idea of Compete Streets is simple: if a community is going to build or refurbish a road, then the design should envision a safe travel corridor for everyone – pedestrians, bikers, drivers and users of mass transportation while still allowing drivers to move efficiently. Also, roads can be attractive, inviting, landscaped lanes that enrich our communities. Completing a street in Zachary, LA These are design challenges for sure, but if we start now – and we are – we’ll soon have a city laced with accessible, safe and friendly travel boulevards for all, complete with sidewalks, bike paths, safe lighting, and easy-to-navigate ramps to move from sidewalk to street level. We’ll have better drainage where rain can seep through porous sidewalks and parking lanes to underground pipes, or with medians that double as gardens, capturing and retaining rain water rather than allowing local flooding. Much of this can also be built with environmentally friendly, recycled materials. Completing a street in Zachary, LA; making walkways more accessible We think the concept of Complete Streets is an idea whose time has come, and we are poised to serve the citizens of Baton Rouge and other south Louisiana communities in our designs. Well, we at PEC have worked hard for more than 50 years to make life safer and easier for everyone. We design clean water systems and waste water systems, airports and – yes roads, sidewalks and bike paths. Pleasant walkways and landscaping turn streets into neighborhood assets. That meant the tax dollars we as communities paid toward roads benefitted only some of us…those of us in cars. We had little choice in our mode of transportation; a car over a bike, walking or a bus every time, because cars were best suited for our roads – or rather our roads were best suited for cars. Ferdinand Street, St. Francisville For a while now, we engineers have been designing roads with one purpose… help drivers get to work, school, play, shopping, the doctor and to church quickly and safely. Great idea in the age of the car, but as we made more and more car friendly roads, we discovered something: many of us still like to walk or ride bikes, and some of us have to. And some of us have difficulty getting around, because we are in a wheelchair or walk with assistance. Complete Streets are the answer. February 5, 2020 Leading the way to MoveBR ! We are honored to lead the way to a better, safer drive, bike and walk to work, home, school, play or church. MoveBR is now officially underway. The parish engineering selection board picked us among the first four firms to start designing our parish’s future in the largest road building program East Baton Rouge has ever undertaken. Groom Road (left-to-right) intersecting Plank Road in Baker, LA We get to start in Baker redesigning Groom Road to allow bikes, pedestrians and cars to move more safely and easily. We can’t wait to get started! We want to MoveBR. September 5, 2019 Half-Century of improving Louisiana living... We started 50 years ago to bring clean water to our clients; mainly cities and parishes. We mapped out water districts, designed the systems, and watched over construction Since then, we’ve designed and built roads, airports, wastewater systems, bike ways, walkways, recreational areas, riverfront parks, marinas and even an extreme sports park. Thank you, Louisiana, for letting us help pave the way to our future! July 31, 2019 NOLA client shows off our work Cherokee Street, NOLA Recently, at the NOLA City Council… Keith LaGrange, Director of the Department of Public Works, pointed to our work at Cherokee Street as an example of how to get it done. Better drainage, great road, complete streets concept. Permeable sidewalks and parking, underground storage. Thanks Mr. LaGrange. Happy and proud to work with you and your pro’s. Public Works Director, Keith LaGrange, addressing NOLA City Council on improvements in quality, speed and completion of drainage projects. July 8, 2019 Keeping up with the 3 R's... We are proud to have been selected to join East Baton Rouge Parish School System’s engineering group. We stand-by to improve access, parking, play areas, drainage, walkways and all the little things that we civil engineers do to create great learning environments. See you on the school yard! July 1, 2019 Keeping our State Police up to speed ... High Speed Pursuit is part of the job description, and is learned at the EVOC. We are excited to help our State Police train for high-speed pursuit and response at the Emergency Vehicle Operations Center (EVOC). 100+ mph driving, cornering, skid control, and the ability to catch and stop other vehicles are all important skills, and we are getting ready to undertake some design and construction to help this track be in tip-top condition. State Police train for vehicle stops at the EVOC. April 22, 2019 In the news....one of Louisiana's great airports! We are proud to help the Port Of Louisiana have a great airport. From the latest issue of Baton Rouge Business Report’s Annual Report April 12, 2019 Innovative and challenging: restoring False River. Can you say trophy bass? Engineer Gerald Babin is leading the PEC team to restore the north and south flats of False River to healthier depths and cooler water, as well as restore shoreline habitat. Here is how our local TV station covered his work on the “north flats”: http://www.wafb.com/2019/04/12/crews-begin-dredging-false-river-remove-soil-build-up/ February 27, 2019 Calling all projects in need of funds...it's grant time CBDG application for this cycle Our Grant Specialist wants you to know that the call is out for projects that could use Community Development Block Grants. The application period is now open, and we can help you. “Applying for a CDBG grant is a process, and we have a track record of success for our clients.” - Ashley Lormand, PEC Grant Specialist April 8, 2016 Professional Engineering Consultants Corporation Launches New Web Presence Following a Year of Major Achievements Press Release, Company News Professional Engineering Consultants Corporation, a leading provider of engineering consulting services across the Southeast, launches a state-of-the-art new website following regional expansion and employee achievements. BATON ROUGE, LA (PRWEB) APRIL 07, 2016 Professional Engineering Consultants Corporation (PEC), a leading provider of engineering consulting services across the Southeast, is pleased to announce the launch of its new website. The new website features an enhanced experience for current and potential clients, user-friendly functionality, and places greater emphasis on the company's service offerings and completed projects across all disciplines, including roadway, water, wastewater, natural gas, utility relocation, and more. “We’ve created an updated, more streamlined user-experience and built a website that offers visitors a unique look inside PEC, complete with downloadable project profiles highlighting some of our projects”, says PEC President Tony Arikol, “Our values remain exactly the same, but the updated brand and website reflect the invigorated vision for PEC moving forward.” The launch of the new website comes at a time of recent expansion and employee achievements for PEC who, in the last year, opened a new office in Jefferson Parish; completed design and construction management of an $11 million dollar wastewater treatment facility; won the Louisiana Airport Managers and Associates (LAMA) Corporate Award for dedicated service and support of the Aviation community; and saw the election of PEC President, Tony Arikol, to the position of President of the American Council of Engineering Companies Louisiana (ACECL) chapter. Since the firm’s inception in 1969, PEC has built up a significant client base across the Southeast, completing over 2,000 civil projects. The new website can be seen at: http://www.pecla.com ￼ About PEC: PEC, founded in 1969 and headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, provides consulting services for numerous clients including parish and county governments, cities, towns, villages as well as various governmental agencies on the local, state and federal level. PEC is a multi-disciplined firm with engineers and other specialists in the following areas: civil, sanitary, structural, transportation, utility relocation, mechanical, recreational, environmental, surveying, construction oversight, right-of- way acquisition, and grant administration. PEC’s highly qualified staff enables the company to provide the highest quality of service in the most efficient manner. PEC is committed to understanding individual project requirements and fulfilling performance objectives within a client’s financial capabilities. For more information about Professional Engineering Consultants Corporation and their engineering services, visit their website or contact Tony Arikol at tarikol(at)pecla.com. 225.769.2810 – info@pecla.com – 7600 Innovation Park Drive Baton Rouge, LA 70820 Site Designed & Built by INGENIUM MARKETING | Copyright © Professional Engineering Consultants Corporation Inc.