It's National Bike Month! .... so we decided to spotlight the Lower Trail. This trail offers bicyclists a scenic ride that spans through Blair County and Huntingdon County, PA.

Keller Engineers has completed several projects for Rails to Trails/Allegheny Ridge Corporation on the Lower Trail, which is located on the former Petersburg Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad, along the Frankstown Branch of the Juniata River.

This spotlighted project included improvements and repairs to the existing 16-mile Lower Trail. Keller Engineers’ responsibilities included design, preparation of construction drawings, field surveys, construction plans, preparation of bid documents, and acquisition of agency approvals. Additional work completed:

• Four new trailside restroom comfort stations
• SR 9900 – Improvements to section low
• Improvements to NS Trail section
• Stream bank stabilization improvements
• Eleven mile Lower Trail Gap Study
• Mt. Etna Bridge re-decking
• Lower Trail Floodwall
• Miscellaneous trail improvements

We encourage you to celebrate National Bike Month by getting outside and onto a bike trail of your choice. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) offers a website that makes finding a trail very easy.

We participated in a ribbon cutting ceremony for Jackson East Taylor Sewer Authority's (JETSA) new office building on Thursday, May 13th.

The project began with demolition of the former office building, utility relocation, a new 1,400 square foot office, concrete sidewalk, a deeper parking area including handicap parking, new signage and two newly defined entrance/exit locations onto the state road.

The new office building consists of a larger conference room, a larger office for the secretary including a convenient and safe bill pay window, a small kitchen, two new ADA compliant restrooms, a utility room and a storage room. In addition, a security system and alarm system were designed and installed.

Keller Engineers responsibilities included design, permitting, bidding, construction management, and construction inspection.

We are grateful for the opportunity to serve the Jackson East Taylor Sewer Authority on this exciting project.

The First Five (1991 to 1996)

In November 1991, Joe Keller rented a one-room office at 420 Allegheny Street, Hollidaysburg, PA, which is still the firm's corporate headquarters today. One room with two desks worked fine when Joe was the only employee, and even when Andy Ebersole joined him a few months later; however, the challenge began when a third employee was hired. The group decided the desks would be used by whoever needed a desk most at the time -- such as for drafting or writing. The story states that Joe, who in addition to engineering was marketing the company, could often be found sitting on the floor or a chair with a phone on his lap.

To view the corporate campus as it is today, click here.

Joe's perseverance and dedication paid off. As word spread, developers and municipal leaders brought their business to the new firm. By the end of the first full year in business, Keller Engineers went from renting one office to four, employees increased from one to seven, and clients went from zero to 18.

The first land development project was in the State College area, and the first municipal project was a water project in Bedford County. Transportation scored its first two bridge projects in 1995, in Fulton County. Today, nearly 30 years later, the Keller team still works with each of these project owners.

After five years in business, at the end of 1996, Keller Engineers had grown to include six divisions, 19 employees, and had served 545 new clients. The divisions included:

• Land Development -- Joe Keller, Director (started in 1991)
• Survey -- Andy Ebersole, Director (started in 1992)
• Water/Wastewater -- Dan Carbaugh, Director (started in 1992)
• Transportation -- Tom Morisi, Director (started in 1993)
• Marketing -- Sandy Ivory, Director (started in 1993)
• Accounting/Bookkeeping -- Wendy Rossman, Director (started in 1995)

Stay tuned for next month's adventures of Keller Engineers.

Keller Engineers is pleased to announce the hiring of Bradley Meck.

With over 21 years of construction inspection experience, he was hired as a Construction Inspector in our Transportation Division in Hollidaysburg, PA.

Welcome to the team, Brad!

A special shout out to our employee volunteers who picked up litter along our adopted roadway in Hollidaysburg, PA...

Pictured: Angela Reilly, Dave Cunningham, Matt Stoehr, and Joe Keller.

Not pictured: Adam Long, Jonathan Chwatek, and Mike Reilly.

Look at those smiling faces! We appreciate your help in beautifying our adopted roadway.

Stronger Together... what a fantastic theme for National Public Works Week 2021.

Employees of municipal Public Works Departments help to maintain the community's vitality by providing a wide variety of services in transportation, stormwater treatment, parks and green spaces, water, wastewater, public buildings, etc. Their work significantly contributes to creating and maintaining a great place to live.

These dedicated workers collaborate with stakeholders on capital projects, infrastructure solutions, and quality of life projects. By working together, the impact citizens and public works professionals have on their communities is magnified and results in the ability to accomplish goals once thought unattainable.

National Public Works Week will be celebrated May 16-22, 2021. If you see a public works employee, please take a moment to thank them for their hard work or send a nice note to your local Public Works Department!

Title: I don’t think I was ever given one. Titles are overrated anyhow. (Senior Survey Technician)

Time at Keller Engineers: 27 years

What was the last TV show you binge-watched? I don’t have cable.

What’s your favorite family tradition? Dinners at my mothers.

What’s your favorite season and why? Summer, because I hate winter, fall, and spring if it’s below 80-90 degrees.

How would your friends describe you? That would be a question for them.

Aside from necessities, what one thing could you not go a day without? I can go without just about anything any day.

Happy Birthday to the following employees:

Joe Bauer, 5/8

Bill Henry, 5/28

Mason Burk, 5/29

Michael MacNamara, 5/29

Keller Engineers, Inc. | keller-engineers.com

Corporate Office (Hollidaysburg, PA): 814-696-7430

Branch Office (State College, PA): 814-231-2925