EVENT DETAIL

next Monthly Technical Meeting on Tuesday, July 28th at the Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC) in Charlottesville starting at 12:00pm.  Our distinguished speakers will be Johann Zimmermann, P.E. and Joe Hochstetler, P.E., both from JZ Engineering in Harrisonburg, VA.

 

Extreme flooding events have destroyed hundreds of small, privately owned bridges in mountainous regions of the country.  After severe flooding in West Virginia in 2015, JZ Engineering developed a guideline for the design and construction of private bridge replacement in collaboration with nonprofit relief agencies and local, state, and federal agencies and advisors.  The presentation will present the resilient bridge design concepts for rebuilding that also simplify meeting the regulatory permitting requirements for waterway crossings.  It addresses the structural criteria that were established for vehicle sizes expected to cross private bridges, a cost-effective abutment solution that provides resiliency against future flooding events, and construction techniques and bridge design geared to meeting the strained economic resources available for disaster recovery.

 

Over 200 bridges have been designed and constructed by voluntary agencies following these guidelines.  Starting in West Virginia, their application has extended to southwest Virginia, eastern Kentucky, Vermont, Ohio and presently in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene.

 

Johann Zimmermann, a professional structural engineer, has worked extensively in technically appropriate engineering projects in developing countries and in the United States.  After receiving his engineering degree from Cornell University, he lived and worked for 12 years in Africa and Central America and for 12 years in the development of not-for-profit housing in Washington, DC.  For the last 22 years he has lived in Harrisonburg, VA where he is founder and present partner of

JZ Engineering PLC, a small structural engineering firm.

 

Joe Hochstetler, a professional structural engineer, found his passion for engineering in underserved and marginalized communities as a drafting intern at JZ Engineering.  After receiving his engineering degree from Penn State University, he worked for a geotechnical firm in Pittsburgh, PA.  He returned to JZ Engineering 7 years ago and has been a partner since 2024.

 

Together Johann and Joe’s engineering work has included Hurricane Maria reconstruction in Puerto Rico and the design of hurricane resilient houses with the Mennonite Disaster Service.  The firm has worked extensively with not-for-profit agencies replacing flood damaged residential bridges.

 

Those attending will receive one hour of Continuing Education (CE) toward the Virginia Board’s two-year 16-hour requirement.  Typically, our meetings provide one hour of CE by providing 50 contact minutes of instruction per Virginia Code.

 

The VTRC (with plenty of Free Parking) is located at:

 

530 Edgemont Road

Charlottesville, VA  22903

 

There is a nominal $5 cost for lunch which consists of sandwiches, chips, cookies, and water.  Please visit the 'Stripe' link shared through email to register.