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Strand Associates, Inc.®, a consulting engineering firm founded in 1946 in Madison, Wisconsin, is proud to celebrate its 75th continuous year of providing professional consulting engineering services to the public and private sectors. Strand expanded into Ohio when it acquired SIECO, Inc. in Lancaster in 2002 to complement and add unique expertise to its repertoire of existing services. The office moved to Columbus in 2006. To further support its Ohio clients, Strand opened an office in Cincinnati in 2005. Strand is a proud member of the Ohio community and has provided engineering expertise in all service offerings within the state.
Recently, Strand was hired to assist the City of Cincinnati in implementing wet-weather control strategies in the South Fairmount neighborhood along one of Cincinnati’s busiest transportation thoroughfares that connects the west side of the city to downtown. The vision for the corridor included opportunities for redevelopment and streetscape and transportation improvements along a 5,600-foot stream that was brought to the surface after more than a century buried underground in the sewer system. Twelve individual projects were completed to transform blighted buildings along Queen City and Westwood avenues into the Lick Run Greenway – a mile long green space surrounding the stream that includes a playground, basketball courts, and a community space. The projects are anticipated to remove 500 million gallons a year of stormwater from the combined sewer system to help reduce overflows. Other components of the projects provide additional value to the community, including 6,500 linear feet of shared-use path, 3,000 linear feet of other walks and paths, bicycle and pedestrian signage, streetscape and open space lighting, pedestrian bridge and boardwalk, and green infrastructure bioswales, bioretention areas, and other drainage improvements to treat roadway runoff and convey overland flows during 25- and 100-year storms.
Lick Run Greenway
The City of Athens hired Strand to upgrade its water treatment plant (WTP). A major part of the project was upgrades to the electrical system to improve WTP efficiency, including replacement of all filter and softener valves and softener instrumentation (e.g., flow meters, pressure transducers), the high service pumps, the control system for the entire plant, all major electrical equipment, and the electrical services for the plant. To help the City with its goal of promoting green infrastructure, a solar photovoltaic system was installed to help power the plant, which reduced the need for energy purchased from the utility company. As a result, the City has experienced a significant reduction in energy usage at the plant, reducing the City’s electric bill by $11,000 per month.
Athens WTP
Strand is an award-winning engineering and construction services firm dedicated to helping clients succeed through excellence in engineering. Strand’s service specialties include municipal/general civil, wastewater, water supply, transportation, electrical, mechanical, structural, and aviation engineering; green infrastructure solutions and sustainable design; energy evaluation; and financial assistance through grants and low interest loan programs. Strand now has a staff of more than 450 employees nationwide, with offices in ten locations across seven states.
