Washington, D.C. – The National Association of County Engineers (NACE) awarded Robert Riley, P.E, the 2017 Project / Program Manager of the Year during its 2018 Annual Conference held April 22-26 in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. Since 2003, Riley has served as Chief Deputy Engineer for Delaware County, Ohio.
Riley managed a section of the extension of Sawmill Parkway from the Delaware / Franklin county line in Ohio to the nearby City of Delaware’s industrial zone. The final 4.6 mile segment was the most difficult due to the existence of farms and residences within the proposed corridor. In June 2015, a cost sharing agreement was reached between Delaware County and the City of Delaware. In July 2017, the new road opened at a construction cost of $28.5 million, $1.9 million under budget.
“Rob was crucial to this successful project from its inception in 2005, when public hearings were held,” said Brian Keierleber, P.E., NACE President 2017-2018 and Buchanan County, Iowa, Engineer. “He did an amazing job of planning for 5 new modern roundabouts. Overall, from leading the property acquisition phase to the actual construction, he kept all parties informed on the progress.”
Riley served as Delaware County’s Project Engineer 2000-2010. He holds a B.S. in civil engineering from Ohio Northern University.
In its 62nd year, NACE is a nonprofit, nonpartisan professional association representing over 2,400 county engineers, public works directors, highway commissioners, road managers, and related professionals in the U.S. and Canada. In the U.S., local roads account for about 75% of highways and roads, or 2.93 million miles. Counties manage 1.74 million miles of those roads while cities and townships account for another 1.19 million miles. Counties also own 231,000 bridges and operate one-third of the nation’s transit systems.