Charles Cochran

50 Years of Mentoring

If I had to give a single piece of advice on mentorship to young engineers it would be this – one mentor is not enough. We all have our weaknesses (or “areas of improvement” as Becky White taught me to frame it), and it would be rare to find one person that could be a fix-all…
Read More

The Ins and Outs of Traffic Calming

Cut-through traffic and speeding issues on local roadways are two of the more common complaints that city engineers and public works employees receive from concerned citizens. Traffic engineers have developed a variety of strategies to help mitigate these issues. These strategies are known as traffic calming. Per the Federal Highway Administration and Institute of Transportation Engineers: “traffic calming…
Read More

Updating ALDOT’s Access Management Manual

Greek inventor Archimedes once said, “The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.” This idea is such a simple concept and can be seen in so many parts of life. For example, babies understand this concept when crawling towards their parents, and predators understand this notion when chasing their prey.  In engineering, we…
Read More

I-59/20 Bridge Opening in Birmingham

We have written previously about our work associated with the I-59/20 bridge replacement project in downtown Birmingham.  If you live or work in the area, you already know that the interstate bridges are back open!  Jeff Stephenson and I had the opportunity to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, January 17, and on the following Sunday, the bridges were…
Read More

Protective Stadium Traffic & Parking Study

The Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex is beginning grading work this month at the site of the future Protective Stadium.  The multi-use stadium will have a 45,000 seat capacity and will serve as the home stadium for UAB’s football team in addition to hosting other athletic events and concerts.  The stadium will be located on the four blocks…
Read More