News
Our work is our passion. We are driven to share ideas and information that make an impact on our clients, our communities, and our people.
We Want to Hear from You!
TTL, Inc. and the City of Tuscaloosa are inviting residents to a community engagement meeting to gather input for improvements to Lake Nicol and Harris Lake.
Set for Monday, Aug. 22, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., this come-and-go event will be held at the Mary Ann Phelps Activity Center, 2200 Rock Quarry Dr. in Tuscaloosa, and feature TTL staff members to present potential concepts for the lake and seek feedback and ideas from the public.
The community engagement meeting is the latest in the ongoing efforts by TTL and the City of Tuscaloosa to gain insight into what the public wants for the future of these lakes. A public survey on the lakes was launched in July and will remain open through the end of August 2022. The public is urged to complete the survey at Elevate Tuscaloosa.
As part of Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox’s Elevate Tuscaloosa initiative, TTL was selected to create a master plan that will help inform recreational decisions for Lake Nicol and Harris Lake for years to come.
Come out and make your voice heard!
ASHE 2021 Member of the Year
A longtime engineer with TTL, Inc. is the 2021 Member of the Year recipient awarded by the Middle Tennessee section of the American Society of Highway Engineers (ASHE).
Leanna Whitwell, PE, TTL’s regional manager for geotechnical services in Tennessee, was honored during ASHE Middle Tennessee’s inaugural awards banquet, held at The Bell Tower in downtown Nashville on July 29.
Leanna joined the organization in 2007 and currently serves as secretary, a position she has held since 2013. In addition, she is the past chair of the Tennessee Geotechnical Group of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a member of the Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers.
A graduate of Tri-State (now Trine) University with more than 27 years of engineering experience, Leanna joined TTL’s Nashville office in May 2010. She now serves as the regional leader for Tennessee geotechnical engineering services, overseeing the coordination of training, resource management, and supervision of geotechnical staff. Leanna also acts as principal engineer, providing geotechnical engineering services and oversight for construction materials testing projects.
TTL, Inc. is an engineering consulting firm with more than 430 employees and offices in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas. The firm serves clients across the nation in the energy, transportation, industrial, institutional, commercial, government, and water/wastewater markets. First formed in 1964 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, TTL is passionate about solving challenges and helping clients be successful. At our core, we are driven to serve our clients, our communities, and our people. More information about TTL can be found at www.ttlusa.com.
John Cheney Joins as Tennessee Regional Business Development Director
TTL is pleased to introduce John Cheney as Tennessee Regional Business Development Director. John brings his 25 years of experience in business development and project management to this position where he will build and enhance client relationships, support long-term client and pursuit strategy, and lead TTL’s community and industry engagement.
Growing up with a contractor dad, John worked on roof-tops while assisting his dad with take-offs and estimates. With a love for taking someone’s inspiration to reality, John obtained his bachelor’s degree in architecture from Auburn University in Auburn, AL and took part in the Mexico Study Abroad Program studying pre-Columbian architecture. Johns unique background in contracting combined with his education in Architecture, skills in problem-solving, and a deep understanding of the impacts of design on construction allowed him to bring his clients vision to life effectively, economically, and practically.
John also learned the importance of relationships from his grandfather, a dentist who always put his clients at ease by building relationships. John has embraced the role of business development focusing his career on building authentic relationships that enable him and his colleagues to help solve his client’s challenges.
Passionate about community and industry involvement, John is a Rotary International two-time club president, Paul Harris Fellow, and Multi-District Board Member for International Youth Exchange in 13 states, North America, Latin America, and Europe. John is also involved in the Society of Military Engineers (SAME), Tennessee School Plant Managers (TSPMA), Tennessee Sheriffs Association (TSA), and the Southern Economic Development Council.
John and his wife Connie love to get out on their bikes on the greenway, root for the Auburn Tigers, and spend time with their three adult daughters.
John Castleman Joins Nashville CEI Department
TTL, Inc. is excited to announce John Castleman, PE is the new Construction Engineering and Inspection Manager at the Nashville office.
John has over 8 years of experience on urban, and rural, reconstruction projects for both TDOT and municipalities including design review and construction implementation. He will be responsible for managing our growing Construction Engineering Inspection service line in Tennessee. He will manage current CEI staff and supervise TTL’s inspection efforts on construction projects throughout the state. As TTL’s CEI manager, John will also spearhead our CEI business development strategies. We are excited to welcome John to our growing TTL team!
Engineering Excellence Awards Grand Award Winner
Earlier this year, TTL, Inc. was recognized by the American Council of Engineering Companies Alabama (ACEC Alabama) as their Engineering Excellence Awards Grand Award Winner for the Homewood Suites project in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. In May 2019, TTL was contracted by Cohen Investments, Inc. (Cohen) to provide professional consulting services for the design and construction of a six-story Homewood Suites hotel. TTL provided civil design, surveying, geotechnical engineering, environmental consulting, construction materials testing, and Special Inspections.
The site of the Homewood Suites had significant challenges leading up to the development of the property. The property had been used as a recreational lake, a landfill for the city, and a farmer’s market up until its closure in 2012. During the initial investigative efforts associated with the projects previous developments, TTL discovered there was leftover waste from the previous landfill that once occupied the site. That waste was removed, and to ensure the waste did not have an effect on the site, TTL conducted an environmental investigation on the soil and groundwater. The soil and groundwater samples were analyzed for the constituents of concern and methane. It was determined that Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds (SVOCs), and Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA) Metals were detected in the samples taken.
Once these materials were detected, it was determined that these materials could be harmful to guests and the site was enrolled in the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) Voluntary Cleanup Plan (VCP). Under the VCP, TTL developed a Site Cleanup Work Plan that included design of a remediation system to mitigate the intrusion of the vapor materials into the hotel structure. The remedial design involved the installation of a methane mitigation system on the entire footprint of the structure. Then, a built-up vapor barrier system was installed on the sub-slab, and a mounted blower was attached to the piping and valve system to extract the harmful vapor materials from the ground and release them from a vent away from the building. TTL also installed methane monitoring devices on the first floor of the hotel to further monitor methane levels at the site.
With its new remedial system in place, Homewood Suites opened in March 2021, and ADEM issued a letter stating the environmental issues at the site had been addressed under the VCP put into place.
TTL would like to recognize both Ryan Costanzo and Ken Bailey, PE for their work on the project. The Alabama ACEC Awards were held on March 3rd in Birmingham, Alabama with TTL in attendance to receive the award. After receiving the Grand Award, TTL will represent ACEC Alabama at the ACEC EEA National Awards in Washington, DC in May.
Tennessee Outstanding Engineer of the Year
The Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers recognized TTL’s Michael Cochrane, PE as their 2022 Outstanding Engineer of the Year at the Middle Tennessee All Engineers Banquet on Friday, February 25th, 2022.
Mike, a graduate of both Lipscomb University and Vanderbilt University, has a long history in Middle Tennessee as an engineer and consultant. He is known for his professionalism, quick wit, problem solving abilities, and engineering contributions to the Middle Tennessee area. With over 42 years of civil engineering experience as a professional engineer, Mike has been a leader on several local projects including the Vanderbilt University Medical Center One Hundred Oaks Mall Design and the Burton Hills development. In his free time, Mike enjoys golfing, spending time with his wife, Rita, and watching their grandsons’ athletic events. Mike is a past President of the TSPE Nashville section, is on the Lipscomb University Engineering School Advisory Board, has served as Post President for both the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Nashville and Ft. Campbell Posts, and was instrumental in the initiation of SAME’s Oak Ridge Post. As Senior Vice President of TTL, Mike currently leads the civil design and survey division company-wide
Congratulations Mike on this well-deserved award!
Congratulations!
Congratulations to our team members who passed their Professional Engineering exam! We appreciate their dedication and hard work to achieve this goal.
Tyler had been with TTL since 2012. He is a project manager specializing in Construction Quality Assurance (CQA) services and landfill construction services. Tyler has a BS from The University of Alabama in Civil & Construction Engineering, as well as an MS in Geotechnical Engineering from Mississippi State University.
Tate has been with TTL since 2017. He has worked on many geotechnical projects in commercial, industrial, institutional, and transportation markets. He has a bachelor’s in civil engineering from The University of Alabama.
Stephanie has 6 years of experience with TTL. During her time here, she has performed geotechnical services for different markets including industrial, governmental, transportation, and commercial. Stephanie has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Civil Engineering from Auburn University.
Rakshith has been with TTL since 2019. He is a project manager and works with the energy division of the geotechnical department in San Antonio, TX. He has managed projects involving electrical substations and electrical transmission lines in Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Arkansas, and Louisiana. He has a master’s in Civil Engineering from Arizona State University.
Travis Lung Joins TTL San Antonio Civil Department
TTL, Inc. is pleased to announce Travis Lung, PE has joined the team as a Civil Design Lead at the San Antonio office. Mr. Lung is an active member of the San Antonio engineering community, with more than 25 years of experience. He has managed several government, commercial, and residential projects in the South Texas area.
Mr. Lung is a United States Air Force Veteran. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from the University of Texas at San Antonio and is a licensed Professional Engineer in Texas.
TTL, Inc. is expanding civil design capabilities at its San Antonio branch office and is excited to be adding to its growing team!
Special Inspections and Design vs. As-built Conditions
TTL’s November webinar featured a presentation from Bo Cristwell, PE on Special Inspections and Design vs. As-built Conditions. Bo discussed what special inspections are, the differences in special inspections and jurisdictional inspections, Special Inspection team roles, what special inspections are required by the International Building Code and examples of design vs as-built conditions.
Click here to watch Bo’s presentation.
Click here to download the presentation.
Common Problems in Masonry Construction
TTL’s October webinar featured a presentation from Bo Cristwell, PE on Common Problems in Masonry Construction. Bo touched on topics such as typical issues that arise during masonry construction, how to approach solving those problems, why Special Inspections are needed and also why they don’t always happen.
Click here to watch Bo’s presentation.
Click here to download the presentation.