HNTB Corporation celebrated 100 years in business on April 24 by hosting Bay Area transportation leaders at a private kick-off event at its Downtown Oakland, CA, office.

Since 1914, HNTB has worked on numerous high-profile transportation infrastructure projects in California. Among its major accomplishments, the firm designed several replacement bridges for Caltrans in Oakland that had collapsed during the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, and also worked on the Golden Gate Bridge Seismic Retrofit Project.

"America looks a lot different than it did in 1914 when HNTB’s founders first opened the firm’s doors," said HNTB CEO Rob Slimp, PE, in a recent column he wrote on his website. "What began as a promising group of engineers designing innovative movable bridges for railroads has grown to contribute to many of today’s largest, most complex bridge, highway, rail, airport, public buildings and public works projects in the United States."

Recent California projects for the infrastructure solutions firm include the Bay Area Rapid Transit extension line to San Francisco International Airport, the SFO Control Tower, the BART Warm Springs Extension, the Devil’s Slide Tunnels on U.S. Highway 1 near Pacifica, CA, and the Presidio Parkway project in San Francisco.

The firm, which has nine California office locations, designed and is currently working on the $1.3 billion, 69,000-seat Levi’s Stadium, the future home of the San Francisco 49ers, in Santa Clara, CA. The two-yr-old design-build project recently announced the completion of its $1.4 million playing field and should be ready for NFL Football (including hosting Super Bowl L), Major League Soccer and other events later this year. 

HNTB has also been an active member in the communities it serves in Northern California, beyond its business projects. The firm has recently received several official commendations from local government agencies and leaders in recognition of its centennial, including a Certificate of Recognition from the Alameda County Transportation Commission and a Letter of Recognition from the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.

Earlier this year, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors presented a resolution proclaiming Jan. 28, 2014, as “HNTB Corporation Day.”

As the company looks forward, Slimp says he sees a need for a "new and sustained" vision.

"What innovations in our transportation infrastructure will be brought to life in the next 100 years? At HNTB, we believe part of that vision means broadening our horizons through a concept called multimodalism," he wrote. "For more than half of our firm’s lifespan, America has viewed transportation through our grandparents’ eyes, developing, expanding and funding each sector — highway, aviation, mass transit, rail — independently. These systems were the innovations of their time, but 21st century needs demand envisioning an integrated transportation system, a multimodal one, versus independent sectors."