Mr. Helmer has worked on a wide variety of projects. Please click on the area which interests you for a synopsis of relevant projects.

Airports

Rickenbacker and Wright Patterson Air Force Bases,Ohio
Civil Engineer on design of Strategic Air Command (SAC) Dispersal Facilities for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Rickenbacker Air Force Base, Ohio and Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, including engineering design of airfield pavements, drainage and water supply systems.

Hawtah Airfield, Saudi Arabia
Chief Engineer on design of airfield to FAA standards at Hawtah in Saudi Arabia for a "grass roots" oilfield (75 wells) for Aramco.

Houston Hobby Airport Pavement/Runway Rehabilitation
Senior Project Manager on $10,000,000 Houston Hobby Airport Pavement Rehabilitation project on Runways 4/22 and 12L/30R and on Taxiways "A" holding apron, "E" holding apron, "J", "K", "L" and "M". The runway and taxiway pavement rehabilitation includes concrete panel replacement, joint sealing, asphalt patching, crack sealing, spalled concrete repair, sealing of concrete surfaces, installation of expansion joints, light can replacements, signs and pavement markings, all to FAA standards. The project also includes pavement rehabilitation and/or replacement at several tenant transition pavement areas and the Southwest Airlines air cargo building, as well as construction of a turnaround for large fire trucks at the ARFF facility.

Construction Management

Multi-Unit Apartment and Motel Projects, Ohio and Pennsylvania
Regional Construction Engineer-Manager responsible for design and construction of sixty (60) apartment and motel projects in Ohio and Pennsylvania totaling 3000 housing units. This was a seven to eight year engagement. Mr. Helmer is knowledgeable and experienced in foundations, earthwork materials and compaction, plumbing systems, utility construction (water, sewers, drainage), and structural members.

Ballistic Missile Early Warning System, Thule, Greenland
Estimator and negotiator for Greenland Contractors during construction of Ballistic Missile Early Warning System at Thule, Greenland, for US Army Corps of Engineers. Made cost estimates, proposals, and negotiated contract changes with the Corps of Engineers. The project included a number of very large radar antennas and support buildings.

Airfield and Sanitary Landfill, California
Supervised construction of airfield and sanitary landfill at Beale Air Force Base, California.

Highways and Streets

Interstate 270, Columbus, Ohio
Project Manager on conceptual, preliminary and final design of Interstate 270, a 55-mile circumferential highway around Columbus, Ohio, for Ohio Department of Transportation. This was a six to seven year engagement. Administered and coordinated the work of four roadway and drainage design squads, geometric design section, signing and lighting section, and right of way section. These projects included developing alternate interchange configurations (directional, cloverleaf, diamond, etc.) and details for Interstate 270 Interchanges with US 23 North, Worthington Galena Road, Interstate 71 North, Cleveland Avenue, State Route 3, State Route 315, Sawmill Road, Interstate 70 West, US 40 West, Interstate 71 South, US 23 South, Interstate 70 East and East Broad Street.

US Route 127 Upgrade, Dayton/Cincinnati, Ohio
Project Engineer on a project to improve US Route 127 between Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, to Interstate-type standards including a divided highway, grade separations and interchanges.

Hardy Toll Road, Houston, Texas
Lead Engineer on design of a section of the Hardy Toll Road for Harris County Toll Road Authority. This project included a 120-inch storm sewer and a 1 mile outfall channel in accordance with Harris County Flood Control District standards. The project also included a toll plaza, and was designed to run adjacent to the large Missouri Pacific Railroad vehicle storage yard, and to conform to its configuration.

US 290 Extension, Houston, Texas
Lead Engineer on development of design schematics (three alternative alignments) for US-290 from Hempstead to Hockley in Harris and Waller Counties for Texas Department of Transportation. This effort included plan and profile drawings for 40 miles of interstate-type roadways.

I-10 Interchange, El Paso, Texas
Lead Engineer on design of a new interchange on 1-10 at Sunland Park Drive, El Paso, Texas, for Texas Department of Transportation. This project included the addition of a flyover ramp and bridge, three diamond ramps, retaining walls, paving, grading and drainage.

Urban Arterial System Upgrade, Texas
Coordinating Engineer on a $60 million project to improve 14 miles of major urban arterial to a seven (7) lane typical section. This required the coordination of eight roadway and structural design firms, three geotechnical firms, and two traffic engineering firms. Also prepared traffic control plans, permanent signing and pavement marking drawings for a part of this project.

Highway Interchanges, Houston, Texas
Geometric Design Engineer on development of alternative interchange configurations at 1" = 200' for IH610/IH10 East and IH610/SH225 interchanges in Houston for Texas Department of Transportation.

Street Design and Engineering, Houston, Texas

City of Houston - Lead Engineer on design of W. Tidwell Rd. from Ella to N. Shepherd including street paving, 108 inch storm sewer, water, and sewer relocations.

Harris County - Lead Engineer on a one mile extension and improvement of Greens Road from West Hardy Road across a branch of Greens Bayou and Missouri Pacific Railroad including paving, drainage, railroad crossing improvements, signing and pavement marking.

Lead Engineer on design of West Park Drive from Edloe to Kirby for Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority (Metro) including paving, drainage, traffic signals, and utility relocations.

City of Houston-project engineer on design of improvement of Cavalcade from Lockwood to Homestead including street paving, drainage, water and sewer utilities.

City of Houston-project engineer on design of improvement of Market Street from Normandy to Miles including street paving, drainage, water and sewer utilities.

Hedwig Village-project engineer on design of improvement of Gaylord Drive including street paving, drainage, water and sewer utilities.

Street Improvement, North Texas
Senior Project Engineer on design of a street improvement project in a hilly area in a city in North Texas. The project included design of street paving, storm sewers, sanitary sewers, and 8 to 16-inch water distribution lines.

Countywide Transportation Studies, Mansfield, Ohio
Chief Transportation Engineer for Richland County Regional Planning Commission at Mansfield, Ohio. Senior Transportation Engineer for Franklin County Regional Planning Commission at Columbus, Ohio. This was a four- to five-year engagement for the two agencies. Mr. Helmer was responsible for comprehensive countywide transportation studies under the auspices of the US Federal Highway Administration and US Department of Housing and Urban Development including the following:

• Inventory and analysis of highways and arterial streets.
  
• Inventory and analysis of traffic signals including timing and recommendations for improvements.
  
• Inventory and analysis of traffic signs.
  
• Inventory and analysis of railroad grade crossings including delays, train/vehicular accidents, and recommendations for improvements.
  
• Inventory/analysis of traffic accidents including identifying high accident locations and recommendations for improvements.
  
• Speed and delay studies for major arterials.
  
• Traffic counting program using automatic traffic counting machines.
  
• Manual traffic counts at major intersections during peak traffic hours.
  
• Comprehensive inventory and analysis of parking in CBD.
  
• Identification/coding of existing highway/arterial street network.
  
• Land use forecasts to determine future (20 year) traffic volumes, and assigning generated traffic to the existing highway network.
  
• Identification of deficiencies and development of proposed (20 year) highway and arterial street improvements to eliminate deficiencies.

Industrial Plants

Plant Utilities Survey, East Alton, Illinois
Engineer in Plant Engineering Department of Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation at East Alton, Illinois. This plant manufactures aluminum, ammunition and explosives. Performed surveys and prepared maps of existing utilities including sewer, water, storm drainage, gas, electric and compressed air.


Plant Site Grading, Paving and Utilities, Illinois
Project engineer on design of plastics manufacturing plants at Manteno and Grant Park, Illinois, including site grading, drainage, paving and utilities.


Haul Road and Civil Improvements, Jewett, Texas
Project engineer on design of haul road and civil improvements for tipple and conveyor from the tipple to the power plant for a lignite mine at Jewett, Texas, for Houston Lighting and Power Company.

International

International

Roads and Water Management, Saudi Arabia
Engineering design of earthmoving and compaction, pavements, drainage, water and sewer systems for a grass roots oilfield (75 wells) in Saudi Arabia for Aramco.

Water Distribution/Sewer and Irrigation, Tanajib, Saudi Arabia
Senior Project Engineer on design of water distribution, sanitary sewer and irrigation systems for an entire new city at Tanajib in Saudi Arabia. The project included new water distribution lines, water distribution pumping station, sanitary sewer lines and lift stations, irrigation distribution lines and pumping station.

Soil Excavation, Qatar
Engineering design of soil excavations, grading and drainage for $2.0 Billion "grass roots" liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Qatar.

Ballistic Missile Early Warning System, Thule, Greenland
Estimator and negotiator for Greenland Contractors during construction of Ballistic Missile Early Warning System at Thule, Greenland, for US Army Corps of Engineers. Made cost estimates, proposals, and negotiated contract changes with the Corps of Engineers. The project included a number of very large radar antennas and support buildings.

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Stormwater Management and Drainage

800-Acre Storm Drainage Project, Houston, Texas
City of Houston - Lead Engineer on design of the largest storm drainage project in the City in a 10 year period. The project consisted of two 10 ft. by 10 ft. box storm sewers serving an 800 acre drainage area.

Reconnaissance Survey of Drainage System, Houston, Texas
1998/1999 - Managed reconnaissance survey of existing drainage systems in the City of Houston as part of a Citywide Comprehensive Drainage Study that identified $2.5 Billion in required drainage improvements in the City.

River Basin Studies, West Virginia and Ohio
River basin studies for Kanawha River in West Virginia and Muskingum River in Ohio for US Corp of Engineers. Tasks included developing unit hydrographs, sub-basin hydrographs and flood routing to develop composite hydrographs at downstream locations.

Flood Management Surveys, Ohio
Flood damage surveys in Ohio following the 1959 flood on the Scioto and Olentangy Rivers for US Corps of Engineers. This involved flood damage estimates in four (4) cities, summarizing the data, and preparing curves showing flood damage costs for various flood depths.

River Valley Survey, Ohio
Survey of 100 miles of river valley to determine water surface elevations for 1959 flood on Scioto and Olentangy Rivers in Ohio for US Corps of Engineers by locating high watermarks, surveying flood elevations, and plotting water surface profiles for the 100 mile length.

Drainage System Reconnaissance, Columbus, Ohio
Performed field reconnaissance to determine size and configuration of the existing drainage system serving the Columbus (Ohio) General Depot following the 1959 flood for US Corps of Engineers. This data was used to design improvements to minimize future flooding.

Locks and Dams Hydraulic Studies, Ohio
Participated in hydraulic studies for improvements to locks and dams on the Ohio River near Portsmouth, Ohio, for US Corps of Engineers.

Water and Wastewater

Sanitary Sewers Hydraulic Modeling and Inflow/infiltration Correction
Hydraulic Modeling Task Director for an engineering firm which has an exclusive contract to perform Hydraulic Modeling and Inflow/Infiltration Correction of sanitary sewers for a city of 2,000,000 population. The task group consists of twenty-four (24) persons, most of whom are engineers.

• The Hydraulic Modeling task provides wastewater flows and hydraulic grade lines for all sanitary gravity sewers, lift stations and wastewater treatment plants in the City using SWMM and Small Line Analysis computer programs. A related task involves flow analysis using data from wastewater flow meters, flow monitors and rain gauges.
  
  
• The Inflow/Infiltration (I/I) Correction task involves smoke testing, dye water flood testing and TV inspection of sewer lines to identify and locate sources of stormwater inflow and infiltration into sanitary sewers. The I/I task also includes performing oversight of other engineering firms engaged in design of I/I improvements, and construction management/resident inspection of I/I Correction improvement projects.
  

Greater Houston Wastewater Program
Project Manager, Service Area Manager and Senior Plan Reviewer on $1.4 Billion Greater Houston Wastewater Program for City of Houston. Coordinated and administered the efforts of numerous individual civil engineering consulting firms. Projects included gravity sewers, lift stations, force mains, wastewater treatment plants, and wet weather storage and treatment facilities.

Water Distribution/Sewer and Irrigation, Tanajib, Saudi Arabia
Senior Project Engineer on design of water distribution, sanitary sewer and irrigation systems for an entire new city at Tanajib in Saudi Arabia. The project included new water distribution lines, water distribution pumping station, sanitary sewer lines and lift stations, irrigation distribution lines and pumping station.

Water and Sanitary Sewer Systems, Lake Erie Area
County Sanitary Engineer for a county that has extensive water and sanitary sewer systems in unincorporated areas. Responsibilities involved design, construction, operation and maintenance of all of the county's water and sanitary sewer systems, including the water system for a village consisting of water mains and elevated storage tank, daily operation of 5 wastewater treatment plants, and reporting to EPA. Also performed oversight of design of a new water system for a township on a peninsula extending into Lake Erie, and of design of a new sewerage system for another township.

Countywide Water and Sewer System Planning
Chief Engineer on countywide planning studies of water and sewerage systems in a county of 499 square miles. The county contains nine municipalities with populations ranging from less than 1,000 to 50,000 persons. Each municipality has its own water system including water source (surface or wells), treatment, pumping and distribution mains. The county is rural, so that its water and sewer systems are similar to those in other rural areas of the country.

Sanitary Gravity Sewers, North Texas
Senior Project Engineer on design of 8 to 30-inch sanitary gravity sewers involving open cut and tunneling (in rock) in an extremely adverse environment on a hillside in a river valley in a city in North Texas.

Water System Improvement, North Texas

Senior Project Engineer on design of water system improvements for a city in North Texas. This project constructed "loops" (connections) between the ends of existing water mains which have been "dead end" lines. The objective was to increase water pressure and eliminate stale water.

Wastewater Projects, Houston and Brownsville, Texas

Project Engineer for an engineering consulting firm on design of numerous wastewater projects in Houston and Brownsville, Texas. Projects included gravity sewers, lift stations, force mains and wastewater treatment plants.

Projects in Progress: 

Highway and Airport Engineering

Houston Hobby Airport Pavement/Runway Rehabilitation
Senior Project Manager on $10,000,000 Houston Hobby Airport Pavement Rehabilitation project on Runways 4/22 and 12L/30R and on Taxiways "A" holding apron, "E" holding apron, "J", "K", "L" and "M". The runway and taxiway pavement rehabilitation includes concrete panel replacement, joint sealing, asphalt patching, crack sealing, spalled concrete repair, sealing of concrete surfaces, installation of expansion joints, light can replacements, signs and pavement markings, all to FAA standards. The project also includes pavement rehabilitation and/or replacement at several tenant transition pavement areas and the Southwest Airlines air cargo building, as well as construction of a turnaround for large fire trucks at the ARFF facility.

Roadway and Bridge Improvement, Harris County, Texas
Senior Project Manager on design of a roadway and bridge improvement project linking two parks across an aqueduct for Harris County, Texas. The project includes roadway paving, bridge, 2,000 linear feet of retaining walls, grading, drainage, signs and pavement markings.

$10 Million Street and Storm Sewer improvement, Houston, Texas
Senior Project Manager on design of a $10,000,000 major street and storm sewer improvement project on Austin Street in the Houston, Texas, Central Business District including five-lane concrete street paving, dual 9-foot by 8-foot box storm sewer, water and sewer adjustments, traffic signal replacements, signing and pavement markings, landscaping and streetscaping.

For more information, or to discuss a particular project or legal case, complete the inquiry form or contact:

Ray G Helmer, P.E.
9314 Bankside
Houston, Texas 77031
Tel: 713/777-7611 or email:helmereng@comcast.net

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