Bob Bittner and Bittner-Shen Team Join COWI
Bob Bittner(image)
Oakland, CA – Innovative marine construction engineer Bob Bittner and the team at Bittner-Shen Consulting Engineers, Inc., (BSCE) have joined COWI. The move expands COWI’s heavy civil engineering capabilities in North America, built on a long tradition of infrastructure, transportation, and energy solutions.
Bob Bittner, P.E., is an internationally recognized expert in marine construction engineering. Mr. Bittner and his team at BSCE primarily focus on minimizing construction costs through the design and development of innovative methods and equipment for marine construction projects.
“Joining COWI will greatly broaden the opportunities available to me and my staff,” said Bob Bittner, President of BSCE. “We look forward to contributing to the challenging and interesting work that COWI is doing in North America and around the world.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Bob Bittner and the BSCE team to COWI,” said Jack Gerwick, VP Operations for COWI in the Western U.S. “Bob is a pioneer in construction engineering that has primarily focused on providing services directly to contractors. By integrating Bob and the BSCE team into COWI, we can extend the full benefits of their innovative work to both our contractor and owner-side clients.”
Bittner’s professional path has intersected with COWI numerous times over the course of his 50-year career. In 1996, Bob joined Ben C. Gerwick, Inc., a COWI-owned civil and marine structures consulting firm, where he held the title of president from 2002 to 2008.
During his tenure with COWI, Bob led numerous high-profile projects that continue to be cited as examples of innovative construction engineering. These include, among others, the use of in-the-wet float-in construction engineering on the Braddock Dam on the Monongahela River and a pivotal cost-saving foundation design approach on the Cooper River Bridge in Charleston, South Carolina.
Prior to joining COWI, Bittner worked on the Øresund Link, the crossing connecting Denmark and Sweden via a five-mile-long bridge that transitions into 2.5-mile-long submerged tunnel. Bob served as engineering manager for the Øresund Tunnel Contractors on the Øresund Link Tunnel, the largest immersed tunnel in the world. COWI provided the detailed design for the Øresund Bridge, one of the world’s longest cable-stayed bridges. More recently, COWI engaged Bob through BSCE as a design sub-consultant on the immersed tube tunnel segment of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Link.
Bob Bittner has been a member of the National Academy of Construction since 2003. He is a member of the Deep Foundations Institute (DFI), where he served as president for the 2013-2014 term as well as chairman of the Marine Foundation Committee from 2003 to 2008. Bittner is also a member of The Beavers and recipient of the organization’s Engineering Award 2006 for Outstanding Achievement in Heavy Engineering Construction.
About COWI
COWI is a leading international consulting group with competencies within engineering, economics, and environmental science. With offices across the world, COWI provides clients with innovative and sustainable solutions to complex challenges within infrastructure, buildings, environment, water, energy, industry, and planning. In North America, COWI is a premier provider of planning, design and program management services within the Transportation and Energy sectors.
