WTS

Event Recap: WTS-Boston February 2025 Luncheon Seminar

Photo of MassDOT Panelists Matthew Weidele, Kelsey Munns, Hanan Fouad, Alyson Bedard and Alex Bardow with WTS-Boston President Sarah Bergman taken on February 6, 2025 at the UMass Club in Boston.

The WTS Boston Chapter held its February Luncheon Seminar on Thursday, February 6, 2025, at the UMass Club in Boston. Thanks to the efforts of our members, leadership, and sponsors, Boston continues to be one of the largest and most influential chapters in the overall WTS International Organization.

Sarah Bergman, WTS-Boston President, welcomed over 200 guests at the fully booked event. Before introducing our moderator and panelists, she acknowledged and thanked our corporate sponsors, without whom WTS-Boston would not be as successful.

An audience member asking a question into a microphone at the February luncheon.

Sarah then introduced the moderator, Alyson Bedard, P.E., State Bridge Preservation Engineer, and the panelists: Alexander K. Bardow, P.E., State Bridge Engineer; Matthew Weidele, P.E., State Bridge Ratings & Overload Engineer; Hanan Fouad, P.E., State Hydraulics Engineer; and Kelsey Munns, P.E., Associate Bridge Preservation Engineer. The panelists provided insights on updates and changes to bridge inspection policies, including traffic railings, hydraulic analyses, and load ratings. They clarified aspects of the bridge manual, like the purpose of pre-25% process reports, and discussed modifications for mobility and safety upgrades, as well as upcoming changes to posting signs.

The audience participated actively, asking about fundamental bridge concepts and were advised to utilize the National Highway Institute (NHI) training for bridge inspection basics, which offers free online courses to review the fundamentals. The session fostered an engaging and thoughtful dialogue with the panelists, demonstrating a keen interest in the evolving standards and improvements in bridge inspection and design.

The MassDOT Bridge Group panel sitting at tables on stage at the February luncheon during their presentation.

Special thanks to our Programs Committee for planning and running this event, especially event champion, Rica Ueda (VHB), co-chairs Julie Goldberg (BSC Group) and Lisa Juan (Kimley-Horn), and their board liaison, Kari Richards (HDR).

To see additional photos from the event, please click to see our Flickr album.

 

 

 

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