Parsons Brinckerhoff

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Parsons Brinckerhoff
Type Subsidiary
Industry Engineering, design, planning, environment, project/program/construction management
Founder(s) William Barclay Parsons(1885)
Headquarters One Penn Plaza, New York City, United States
Number of locations New York, London, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney and approximately 150 other offices worldwide
Area served Global
Key people George J. Pierson, President and Chief Executive Officer
Products Strategic consulting, planning, design, program management, engineering, construction services and operations & maintenance
Employees Approximately 14,000 worldwide
Parent Balfour Beatty
Website www.pbworld.com

Parsons Brinckerhoff is a leader in developing and operating infrastructure around the world, with 14,000 employees dedicated to meeting the needs of clients and communities in the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia-Pacific regions. The firm offers skills and resources in strategic consulting, planning, engineering, program/construction management, and operations for transportation,power, mining, water/wastewater, and community development projects. Parsons Brinckerhoff is part of Balfour Beatty, an international infrastructure services business operating in professional services, construction services, support services and infrastructure investments. [1] In 2013, the company was named the tenth largest U.S.-based engineering/design firm by Engineering News Record.[2]


Contents

History[edit]

Chief Engineer William Barclay Parsons and the NYC Subway

Founded in 1885 in New York City by William Barclay Parsons, among Parsons Brinckerhoff’s earliest projects was the original IRT line of the New York City subway, designed by Parsons and opened in 1904.[3] Parsons also designed the Cape Cod Canal, which opened in 1914 [4] and charted the course of a railway in China from Hankow (Wuhan) to Canton (Guangzhou), a line that is also still in use today.[5] In 1906, Henry M. Brinckerhoff, a highway engineer, brought his expertise in electric railways to the firm. He is known for his co-invention of the third rail.[6]

The firm has worked on some of the most notable infrastructure projects of the 20th century, including: the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel (1930);[7] the Scheldt Tunnel in Antwerp, Belgium (1933);[8] The Buzzards Bay Railwood Bridge on Cape Cod, Massachusetts (1935);[9] The 1939 World's Fair in New York City;[10] The Garden State Parkway in New Jersey (1957);[11] The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel in Virginia (1957);[12] The Pell Bridge in Newport, Rhode Island (1969);[13] The I-95/Fort McHenry Tunnel (1980);[14] The H-3 Highway in Oahu . Hawaii (1997);[15] and The Sabiya Power Station in Kuwait (2000)[16] and the rapid transit systems of San Francisco (1972);[17] Atlanta (1979);[18] Singapore (1987);[19] Taipei (1996);[20] and Caracas(1983.[21]

Currently, the firm is involved in several major expansions of the public transportation system in the New York metropolitan area, including the extension of the 7 Subway Extension, the new Second Avenue Subway, and an extension of the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal,[22] (East Side Access) Other current and recent projects include: the Taiwan High Speed Rail Project;[23] the Bosphorus rail tunnel in Istanbul;[24] The Woodrow Wilson Bridge in Washington, D.C.;[25] an extension of the East London Line of the London Overground;[26] and the Medupi Power Station in South Africa.[27]

Organization[edit]

Parsons Brinckerhoff was acquired by Balfour Beatty in October 2009 and operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Balfour Beatty plc. Heery International, a company that was merged with Parsons Brinckerhoff in 2010, Balfour Beatty, now operates as Parsons Brinckerhoffs’s buildings company.[28]

Representative projects[edit]

Parsons Brinckerhoff's comprehensive range of services, extend virtually across the complete spectrum of construction endeavours serving both the public and private sectors include buildings, telecommunications, transportation, power and energy systems, industrial facilities, urban infrastructure, safety and risk management, and environmental projects.[citation needed]

Airports and aviation facilities[edit]

An aerial view of Hong Kong International Airport

Buildings and facilities[edit]

A Symphony of Lights, Hong Kong
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC)
Venetian Casino Resort, Macau
The Arch & The Harbourside, Hong Kong
Palm Island, Dubai, UAE

Energy and power[edit]

Tararua Wind Farm, Manawatu Saddle, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Wairakei geothermal power station near Taupo, New Zealand

Bridges and highways[edit]

Intercounty Connector, Beltsville, Maryland
Woodrow Wilson Bridge, Alexandria, Virgina
Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Florida, U.S.
Melbourne CityLink, Victoria, Australia

Tunnels[edit]

PB founder William Barclay Parsons developed cut-and-cover tunneling technique for NYC subway construction
Glenwood Canyon Tunnels, Colorado, U.S.

Rail and transit[edit]

Baltimore, Maryland
Taipei Metro Jiantan Station, Taipei, Taiwan

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Corporate Website," Parsons Brinckerhoff, 2013
  2. ^ "The Top 500 Design Firms," Engineering News-Record, April 25, 2013
  3. ^ Clifton Hood, 722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993).
  4. ^ William James Reid, The Building of the Cape Cod Canal (New York: George McKibbin and Son, Inc., 1961).
  5. ^ "'L' Engines on Chinese Road," New-York Tribune, January 15, 1905
  6. ^ Lisa Moses, "Henry M. Brinckerhoff," APWA Reporter, August 1981.
  7. ^ S.A. Thoresen, "Constructing the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel," Civil Engineering, April 1931.
  8. ^ S.A. Thoresen, "Shield-Driven Tunnels Near Completion Under the Schelde at Antwerp," Engineering News-Record, June 29, 1933
  9. ^ Lift Span Over Cape Cod Canal Sets New Precedents," Engineering News-Record, January 30, 1936
  10. ^ John P. Hogan, "Construction Organization and Technique," Engineering News-Record, September 22, 1938
  11. ^ New Jersey eases some traffic jams with long parkway," Engineering News-Record, September 16, 1954
  12. ^ Thomas R. Kuesel, "A tale of three tunnels," Civil Engineering, December 1974.
  13. ^ Alfred Hedefine and Louis G. Silano, "Newport Bridge foundations," Civil Engineering, October 1968.
  14. ^ Corrinne S Bernstein, "Tunneling Around Ft. McHenry," Civil Engineering, July 1986.
  15. ^ Ray Bert, "Paradise Crossed," Civil Engineering, July 1998
  16. ^ "Combined Heat & Power in Saudi Arabia," Worldwide Independent Power, September 1, 2010.
  17. ^ Thomas R. Kuesel, "Bart subway construction: planning and costs," Civil Engineering, March 1969.
  18. ^ "First line of Atlanta's new transit system opens," Civil Engineering, July 1979.
  19. ^ Rajam Krishnan and K.S. Chan, "Singapore on the Move," Civil Engineering, November 2003
  20. ^ Scott Danielson, "Enter the Dragon," Civil Engineering, November 1994
  21. ^ Venezuela Accelerates $1.5 Billion Caracas Metro Project," The New York Times, March 12, 1977
  22. ^ Aileen Cho, "Cavernous Crusades," Engineering News-Record, February 7, 2011
  23. ^ C. Michael Gillam, and Bradford F. Townsend, "Orient Express," Civil Engineering, April 2009
  24. ^ Daniel Horgan and Christian Ingerslev, "Crossing Continents and Centuries," Civil Engineering, April 2009
  25. ^ "Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project Is Names 2008 OCEA Winner," ASCE News, May 2008
  26. ^ "East London Rail Extension, Upgrade Completed Early," Civil Engineering December 2010
  27. ^ Debra K. Rubin and Peter Reina, "Making 1+1=3," Engineering News-Record, August 30, 2010
  28. ^ Debra K/ Rubin and Peter Reina, "Making 1+1=3," Engineering News-Record, August 30, 2010.

External links[edit]

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