Waterfront, road opportunities bring engineering firm to Portland
Photo/Matt Dodge
Paul Pottle stands outside engineering company Fay, Spofford & Thorndike's new office in Portland
A Massachusetts-based engineering firm specializing in municipal infrastructure and marine projects opened a Portland office in early December, tapping a former Maine Department of Transportation veteran to head the four-person staff at 75 Washington Ave.
With public works projects in the Portland area stretching back 40 years, Fay, Spofford & Thorndike is no stranger to the local engineering market, but hopes to expand its presence with a focus on the state's waterfront and roadway engineering needs.
"Maine has a pretty substantial waterfront, so the skills we bring certainly can help address issues and challenges unique to Maine," says President and CEO Dean Groves.
Throughout the firm's 98 years in business, Burlington, Mass.-based FST has catered largely to municipal and governmental organizations with roadway improvement projects and bridgework, in addition to extensive marine infrastructure contracts with the U.S. Navy and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
"We have a close relationship with the Maine DOT and have had a number of contracts designing local roadway management and improvement, bridgework and culverts. As we continue to look to expand our presence, we saw an opportunity in Maine," says Groves.
The company strengthens its Maine ties with the addition of 30-year Maine DOT veteran Paul Pottle, who will head up the new office. Having worked most recently as the assistant program manager for the DOT's Multimodal Program, Pottle assisted the state's communities in developing marine and aviation infrastructure, as well as rail-to-trail conversion and bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.
Pottle says his familiarity with the development of Portland's waterfront from the state side should be an asset to the expanding firm. "I would think that [the firm] could be very helpful to the city, the DOT and the Port Authority as it continues to develop its strategies," around Portland's "dynamic waterfront" he says.
In a time of economic uncertainty, Groves said that engineering firms like FST have seen the market expand with federally funded public works projects keeping the industry afloat.
"The last few years have been very good for us. We've had higher revenues, and that's the result of higher investment from [federal] government, the state and municipalities," he says. "Private development has definitely has taken it on the chin in this tough economy, but clean drinking water projects, providing roads and bridges to move goods, services and people — those are all essential to a strong economy."
With four employees working out of the offices of geotechnical engineering firm Haley & Aldrich, FST has established a modest presence in the city, but one they hope to expand on, according to Groves. "[Haley & Aldrich] are one of our partners, so we saw a natural opportunity to collaborate with them. It's a start, but it might be that we expand our presence in Portland or the vicinity," he says.
The firm's first project in the Portland area dates back to the late '70s when the company assisted in the Spring-Middle Arterial roadway project. More recently, FST worked on the I-295 Congress Street interchange, revamping the exit to better serve the city's Regional Transportation Center.
The FST team was also recently selected as part of a group to overhaul the city's Casco Bay Ferry Terminal on Commercial Street. Pottle is well familiar with development on the waterfront's east end, having helped to manage the Ocean Gateway project from the state side in his former post with the DOT. He calls the terminal a "centerpiece component" to Portland's ever-changing waterfront business landscape.
Having engineered cruise ship terminal projects all along the eastern seaboard, including facilities on Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod, the firm is well positioned for work in Portland's harbor. Groves acknowledges the appeal of a "heavy emphasis on the waterfront," and "big investment to appeal to the cruise ship lines," at both the city and state levels.
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