Sain Projects

Shelby County Broadband

In recent years, broadband has become a hot topic of conversation. Openly considered an essential infrastructure, providing access to broadband in rural areas is connected to economic development, lower unemployment rates, increased home values, and educational improvements. The first step to determining whether broadband projects in rural areas are viable is to conduct a Broadband…
Read More

10 Years of APPLE

What does a fruit have to do with engineering? Well, in this case, it’s one of the first steps in the preliminary engineering process. The Advanced Planning, Programming, and Logical Engineering (APPLE) program is administered by the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham (RPCGB). The goal of the program is to assist local governments in…
Read More

Project Spotlight – Carvana Distribution Center

In April 2020, Carvana, a cutting-edge leader in online automotive sales, contracted Sain Associates to perform surveying, civil, and traffic engineering services for a distribution facility in Bessemer, Alabama.  Although non-disclosure agreements required the project to be known as “Project Otto,” it was later announced as Carvana. Commonly known as an online car dealership and…
Read More

50 Years of Problem-Solving

Sain’s 50th anniversary includes all the qualities of a great American success story – vision, hard work, and collaboration. Charles “Hack” Sain, PE, founded our firm with the vision to transform the relationship between engineers and property developers into one of mutual respect, where the engineer provides leadership and problem-solving on behalf of the client. Mr….
Read More

Roundabouts in Engineering

In honor of National Roundabout Week, we’re sharing a throwback blog from 2016! A few years have passed since it was last published, but one thing remains the same – roundabouts are a proven safety countermeasure because they can substantially reduce crashes that result in serious injury or death. Roundabouts can improve safety, promote lower…
Read More

CE&I for Bridge Construction

Sain provides Construction Engineering & Inspection (CE&I) services for roadway projects, including bridges, resurfacing, widening, signals, drainage, and sidewalks. Over the last several years, Sain has helped cities with their CE&I duties as they hire contractors to build new bridges.  Our CE&I staff is experienced with bridge inspections and construction administration, having worked on over…
Read More

I-65 Corridor in North Shelby County

As a resident of the south Birmingham Metro Area for over 20 years, I have driven the I-65 corridor nearly every weekday and have seen it evolve throughout that timespan. The fast growth of communities south of Birmingham has resulted in increased traffic volumes on I-65. With nearly 130,000 vehicles per day, I-65 south of…
Read More

What is CE&I

CE&I stands for Construction Engineering and Inspection.  For CE&I services, Sain assembles a team comprised of a project manager, professional civil engineer, and field inspectors to represent the owner of the project during construction.  The project manager serves as the liaison between the owner, contractor, and any involved agencies or parties.  The professional civil engineer…
Read More

Why We Love Sain – Our Culture

In 1972, Hack Sain founded Sain Associates, and in our training room, we have a framed shadow box of Hack’s old design instruments. Although these tools are now relics, they reflect our history and remind us of how much we have evolved. Just as engineering has moved forward, incorporating better technology, our firm has continued…
Read More