PERSPECTIVES
VP of telecommunications
division added
Cheri Grainger has been
named vice president of
Ayres Associates’ new
telecommunications division,
bringing a two-decade track
record of successfully leading
fiber optic and communications
organizations. Grainger is
responsible for the operation of this new division,
including achieving client satisfaction and design
quality standards with utility locate crews, outside
plant (OSP) engineers, and utility designers across
several offices.
She will develop an organizational structure for
the division, with an initial emphasis on new
business development in an industry where she
is well-connected. Market expansion is the goal
in telecommunications, natural gas, and cable TV
sectors.
Grainger will work with other divisions to cultivate
relationships with clients who can use a broad range
of Ayres’ services. She will manage the technical
production of the division for the delivery of timely,
cost-effective, high-quality services with a keen eye
on safety.
She will be based in the company’s Waukesha office
and will oversee staff in the Waukesha, Green Bay,
and Eau Claire offices in Wisconsin and the Cape
Coral and Tampa offices in Florida.
Project earns
national award
The American Public
Works Association has
selected the Grand
Avenue Half Moon
Lake Bridge in Eau
Claire, Wisconsin, as
one of its 2019 Public
Works Projects of the
Year in the Small Cities/
Rural Communities
Transportation category.
American Council of Engineering Companies of
Wisconsin’s 2019 Engineering Excellence Best of
State Award for Ayres’ design work. (In other ACEC-
WI news, the River Prairie development project
featured on Pages 2-8 also won a 2019 Best of State
Award).
Ayres' team used design image renderings, creative
engineering, and inventive problem-solving to
design a structurally sound and aesthetically
pleasing replacement bridge at an entrance to one
of Eau Claire’s signature attractions: Carson Park.
The project, completed in 2018, required extensive
permitting, regulatory involvement, and public
outreach.
Ayres’ designers were able to more than triple the
footprint of the causeway over Half Moon Lake.
Bicyclists now have designated lanes to ride in,
and anglers have various locations to fish from.
Pedestrians no longer have to walk alongside live
traffic, and kayakers have more headroom.
Award-winning interchange
improves corridor
The main corridor through southwestern Wisconsin
has received a much-needed upgrade – and
incorporated a popular new eagle viewing area.
When the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
began planning for improvements to IH 90 and
the roads connecting the Cities of Onalaska and La
Crosse to IH 90, local residents and businesses were
ready with ideas as Ayres led the engineering.
The new interchange reconditioned IH 90, raised
it over STH 35 to improve vertical clearances,
and lowered it under CTH “B” to improve vertical
clearances. The STH 35/USH 53 interchange
was designed and reconstructed as a diamond
interchange. An auxiliary lane added between the
USH 53/STH 35 interchange and the STH 157/USH
53 interchange accommodates increased traffic. In
addition, 13 bridges were replaced or rehabilitated.
This national award comes on the heels of the
APWA Wisconsin Chapter’s 2019 Project of the Year
Award, a Wisconsin Department of Transportation
2019 Excellence in Highway Design Award, and the
AyresAssociates.com
│29