News Media Coverage Expert Insights Blog/Events Press Releases
As New Jersey strengthens its emphasis on infrastructure redevelopment, Route 7 Wittpenn Bridge, an integral component of the state’s comprehensive Portway Corridor project, is nearing completion. Replacement of the 90-year-old moveable vertical lift bridge over the Hackensack River is taking shape with the center section of the main span lifted in place. The wider, modern structure doubles the vertical clearance to 70-feet, drastically reducing the frequency of bridge openings that affect marine and vehicle traffic.
McLaren’s construction engineering team worked across many phases of the project, from erection of the main span to the permanent tower, control house, machinery house, and counterweights for this vertical lift bridge. In addition to developing erection sequences and means and methods, our team designed all temporary works and developed all crane plans including the Weeks Marine 553 crane for erecting the permanent towers and components as well as the Donjon Marine Co., Inc. Chesapeake 1000 marine barge for erecting the main span box girders. We also designed all lifting lugs rigging and components. The improvements will strengthen access to and between local ports, intermodal rail facilities, transfer stations, and surface transportation system.
A new thought-provoking whitepaper by Muangsangop Seniwongse, Ph.D., P.E., CPEng, M.ASCE, Lead Technical Marine Specialist at McLaren has been published by ASCE rethinking the specification of fixed-base and/or pinned-base columns in computer analysis and the design of steel frames.
Most structural analysis software provides a default support condition for steel frame column bases as fixed, meaning fixed against all six degrees of freedom. A release command can be used to release the restraint in any specified degree of freedom. However, some engineers have been using incorrect column base support conditions for major steel frames for years, specifying pinned supports instead of the fixed supports in all their designs. This is equivalent to assuming that plastic hinges (full plastic moment) have already formed at the bottom of the columns before any loads are applied. The result is a safe but grossly overdesigned project, due to the entire elastic range of moment resistance at the column base being ignored.
The research in Mr. Seniwongse’s paper, “Specifying Fixed-Base Columns or Pinned-Base Columns in Computer Analysis and Design of Steel Frames,” demonstrates fixed and pinned supports commonly seen, sites actual test results and uses examples of major structures that were designed with a fixed-base connection and examining their life-long integrity under actual sustained service loads. Read more about cost savings in steel structures design and download the paper here on ASCE Library.
When NYC space constraints limit crane construction options, we set our sights for the sky! At Tiffany & Co.’s new flagship store on Fifth Avenue, McLaren’s construction engineering division applied an innovative solution to support the luxury brand’s 8th, 9th, and 10th-floor vertical renovation project by bringing the crane to top of the building!
Our team engineered the lift of an LTM 1130 mobile crane onto the roof of Tiffany’s utilizing a giant 500-ton Liebherr LTM 1500 crane. The fully assembled LTM 1500 (utilized the y-guy superlift kit) required eight trucks delivering over 363,800 lbs of counterweight, so McLaren’s construction division also provided the crane engineering for a Tadano TR450XL that assisted in putting the LTM 1500 together. With time and budget in mind, we provided crane plans, permitting, and the structural engineering necessary for the lift itself and to support the crane once placed.
“It’s a place where so many have memories of important moments in their lives, filled with emotion and anticipation of the extraordinary. Tiffany’s newly transformed flagship will reflect the future of our brand, while honoring our 183-year legacy.”
The LTM 1130 (130-ton crane) weighing approximately 205,000 lbs, fully counterweighted, was lifted seven stories over the streets of Manhattan to begin work on the newly reimagined, three-story glass-walled addition that will sit atop the existing seven-story limestone-and-granite historic building.
“The Tiffany & Co. Fifth Avenue flagship is arguably one of the most beloved and well known luxury retail spaces in the world,” Reed Krakoff, Tiffany & Co.’s chief artistic officer, said in a press statement. “It’s a place where so many have memories of important moments in their lives, filled with emotion and anticipation of the extraordinary. Tiffany’s newly transformed flagship will reflect the future of our brand, while honoring our 183-year legacy.”
“Today I’m planting a seed of…” THE SEED PROJECT is sprouting up as an ambitious work of collaborative and participatory art across the nation. In NYC, offerings for the future from 150 community members from all five boroughs have been used to create a large-scale public art projection that covers the entire facade of the historic Public Theater at 425 Lafayette Street. McLaren’s entertainment engineers designed the projector supports on the roof of the adjacent building (Astor Place Theater). The temporary arrangement of modular platforms supports three projector enclosures, with wood cribbing to spread the load out to the roof, as well as tie-downs, braces, and cables to secure the assembly in place for this pop-up installation.
With striking views of the Hudson River and the North Cove Marina, the soaring glass atrium known as The Winter Garden has a spooky resident temporarily residing amongst the palm trees. McLaren worked with Brookfield Properties to evaluate the rigging support for this 22-foot-tall, 102-pound inflatable sculpture by artists Tin & Ed. The temporary art installation is held in place with 12 rigging points at the top, each of which are supported overhead by a truss rigging to the roof.
“Monster” is a hybrid flower form that borrows directly from nature: a digital crossbreed of parasitic plants and fungi found in the art duo’s research. With olive-and-orange speckled tentacles and an always-open eye in the center, the creation was sculpted using a 3D machine learning model that remixes different sea life including corals, sea slugs and starfish. Monster was created as an ecological warning, albeit a cute one: a Frankensteinish beast conjured by human interference with nature.
Art lovers are in for a Halloween treat…
“If you build it they will come.” Baseball fans have (safely) made their way to Texas for this year’s unprecedented World Series. Parts of Arlington’s Entertainment District, considered a sports mecca of the South, has reopened as Globe Life Field hosts all seven games. Just steps away, McLaren provided structural engineering services for the massive, world-class entertainment venue, Texas Live! and its flagship hotel Live! by Loews. The redevelopment transformed a surface parking lot into a dynamic $250 million dining, entertainment and hospitality district nestled between the Texas Rangers’ Globe Life Park and the Dallas Cowboys AT&T Stadium.
We are proud to announce that our President, Jeremy D. Billig, PE and our Vice President – Marine, Stephen A. Famularo, PE, D.PE, now join our Founder and CEO, Malcolm G. McLaren, PE, SECB as members of The Moles, an exclusive fraternal organization in the heavy construction industry. Moles members are leaders in their profession who are dedicated to promoting the industry and supporting their colleagues through outreach programs and networking opportunities. From marine terminals to roads, to highrises Jeremy and Steve have been building up NYC. Learn more about their NYC construction expertise below.
More about our NYC Construction Professionals
Jeremy D. Billig, PE – President
Having joined the firm in 2005 as a junior engineer and progressively moving his way up into various leadership roles within the company, Jeremy Billig, P.E. has led a distinguished career at McLaren Engineering Group. Today, as President, he is accountable for the overall coordination, technical guidance and growth of over 250 team members, 7 technical divisions and 11 offices worldwide. With his direction, the firm’s growth and expansion is being driven through out-of-the-box thinking, creative solutions and a dedication to high-quality work.
As an accomplished engineer, Jeremy has worked across the firm’s 10 markets, with projects ranging from bridge work to entertainment venues, healthcare facilities to comprehensive structural work, and the restoration of landmarked buildings. Through the course of his trajectory, Billig has always put a focus on working within the heavy construction industry by providing innovative solutions to assist contractors, fabricators, developers and erectors solve field constructability issues and take their projects from design to completion.
Billig is known throughout the AEC arena as a trusted leader with the ability to quickly gauge the needs of clients and develop custom-tailored solutions. He has a talent for communicating technical concepts effectively and is dedicated to maintaining high standards in the firm’s execution and delivery. Jeremy’s unquestionable integrity and ability to motivate and guide team members to reach their targets, is unparalleled.
Jeremy earned a master’s degree in Structural Engineering from Cornell University and holds a Professional Engineering (P.E.) registration in New York, Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Vermont, Ohio, Massachusetts, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Stephen A. Famularo, PE, D.PE – Vice President Marine Division
With 24 years of hands-on experience at waterfronts throughout the United States, Stephen Famularo, has dedicated his career to changing the landscape of the maritime industry. As Vice President of McLaren Engineering Group’s marine engineering services, Steve leads a team of over 45 engineers, divers, designers, and scientists on complex waterfront inspection, design, rehabilitation, and construction projects throughout the country.
As an accomplished professional engineer, commercial diver, and board-certified Port Engineer (D.PE, through the Academy of Coastal, Ocean, Port, and Navigation Engineers), Steve’s extensive expertise, passion for innovation and unparalleled quality of work has put him at the forefront of marine engineering. His innovative approaches and custom solutions are most evident in New York Harbor and New Jersey where he has been the engineer of record for over $500 million in construction and rehabilitation of marine structures. Steve is a visionary in the field of waterfront asset management, advocate for advancing waterfront sustainability and coastal resiliency, and a leader in expanding the region’s waterborne transportation system through new ferry landing and homeport facility design.
Steve has taught full-day seminars on waterfront rehabilitation, lectured at colleges and universities throughout the northeast, and presented at industry conferences across the country on subjects such as inspection-diver training, marine construction cost estimating, waterfront asset management system design and implementation, and service-life evaluation of marine concrete structures.
We are excited about the growth of McLaren’s marine group under Steve’s leadership and are looking forward to continued expansion through new services, additional markets and geographic reach.
It takes teamwork to bring positive changes to New York City‘s 700+ miles of coastline. Dedicated individuals and organizations like the Waterfront Alliance, are working alongside maritime leaders and groups (many of whom attended and were honored at last night’s Heroes of the Harbor) to make the water’s edge a shared, resilient and accessible resource for all.
Currently, more than 1 million people in the region are vulnerable to flooding. To prepare for the reality of sea-level rise and the next big storm, McLaren has been working with our clients to implement resiliency and access at the water’s edge through living shoreline development, flood plain management and stabilization, riprap revetment and life cycle surveying.
Our Marine and Coastal division understands the dynamics and interdependencies of the physical and ecological functions that are critical to the development of sustainable, resilient solutions. To best provide excellence in resilient design, four more of our engineers have become WEDG (Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines) certified last week. Great work Stephen Famularo, P.E., D.PE, Victoria Christini, P.E., Nicole Kapasakis and Jacqueline Scheid!
One of the most powerful features of BIM is its visualization capabilities. This week, Senior Structural Engineer Bradford Fallon, P.E. has been working on visualizing an erection sequence for a steel frame in Brooklyn. The visualization was carried out in rapid time (thanks to this integrated BIM model) enabling McLaren to quickly identify sequencing issues while providing a graphical representation of the steel erection process to our client for feedback.
Collaboration in BIM helps improve the communication process and in turn, project outcomes by connecting engineering, construction, and design teams with design data throughout the project lifecycle.
The new facility at Ossining Children’s Center is now open with COVID safety top-of-mind! The newly constructed, modern 27,000 square foot Rebecca and Arthur Samberg Building allows the center to host all of its programs, committed to creating a strong lifelong foundation for children’s intellectual, social, emotional and physical growth, under one roof. The 125-year-old non-profit organization now has even more room to provide children 6 weeks to 12-years-old with bright inspiring spaces to learn, grow and explore.
McLaren provided site/civil engineering services from schematic engineering to construction phase services for the new 2.5-acre site. The property’s large slope resulted in three-tiers that utilizes the site’s topography. The playground is positioned to have wonderful views of the Hudson River, and the siting of the building enables all of the infant, toddler, young k and pre-k rooms classrooms to have doors to the outside. This configuration is one safeguard against the COVID pandemic, allowing parents to pick up their children without creating more contact points in the building itself. Additionally, all classrooms have their own bathrooms and MERV13 filters have been installed on all HVAC units.
This nurturing facility has been a crucial resource for all families in the greater Ossining, NY community. They now have the space to expand their programming to enhance even more children’s lives.
Check out more of McLaren’s Education work here.