CIRI-supported RWU team fares well in ASC regional event.

Achieves top-third finish in aggressive Heavy-Civil competition.

In November 2022, the Roger Williams University Heavy/Highway Competition Team earned fourth-place honors at the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Region I competitions in Albany, NY. Supported by a travel grant from CIRI, the team is led by Dr. Amine Ghanem Ph.D., P.E., PMP and Keith Catanzaro, who are respectively Professor and Adjunct Professor of Construction Management at RWU

RWU lecturer Jon Gomes (far right) with the 2022 competition team:
(L to R) David Sales, Kevin Noyes, Brendan Smith and George Smith.

One of 12 participating schools taking on the challenge in the Heavy Civil category, the RWU team was tasked with creating a proposal for the Wellsburg Bridge project — an 830-foot span over the Ohio River to connect Wellsburg, WV with Brilliant, OH.

“The final scoring margins were extremely tight,” says Jon Gomes, a lecturer in the RWU Construction Management program who is also an alumnus. “Our score was within 2 points of a third-place finish — and within 5 points of second place.”

To prepare for the competition, the team draws on knowledge gained through the RWU Heavy Civil curriculum along with experience gained through summer internships. The components of the Wellsburg Bridge assignment included a detailed estimate and schedule, along with plans for site logistics, safety and quality control.