In late June and July, more than a dozen girls from Colorado and New Mexico got a firsthand look at how work is done in the construction and transportation fields as part of the U.S. Dept. of Transportation’s Career Days for Girls initiative.

The sessions began at the Regional Transportation District headquarters and included tours of the agency’s security command center, its control center and Denver Union Station.

The event also featured panels hosted by several women in leadership roles at the agency. They discussed their personal and professional backgrounds and offered career advice to the participants, who ranged in age from 12 to 17. About 38% of RTD’s senior managers and officials are women.

This was the second year that RTD offered an insider’s look for young women and girls. Over the course of two weeks, the girls visited RTD, Denver International Airport, Iron Horse Architects Inc., asphalt contractor P&H Equipment and Wagner Equipment.

MWH Constructors and the town of Eagle, Colo., recently broke ground for the new Lower Basin Water Treatment Plant (LBWTP) project. Speakers included Anne McKibbin, mayor of Eagle; Brandy Reitter, town manager; Bryon McGinnis, public works director for the town of Eagle; and representatives from MWH Constructors and SGM, the designer.

The treatment plant will be located east of the existing plant at the confluence of Brush Creek and the Eagle River. Investing in water infrastructure includes capital improvement costs, plant operations, the cost of distribution of water and planning for future water needs. Among those pictured at the treatment plant groundbreaking on July 10 were: MWH Constructors’ Michael Haarmann, vice president, David Frazier, project superintendent and Trevor Thomson, project manager, as well as SGM’s Rick Huggins, project engineer, and Warren Swanson, SGM president.

The proposed plant has been in consideration since 2007, with initial plant design completed in 2012. Plant construction will be completed in fall 2020.