On February 17th, 1815, the War of 1812 ended with the ratification of the Treaty of Ghent. The United States had defeated Great Britain. The treaty included, among other issues, the transfer of British held lands to the United States, opening up the western lands to expansion. The United States became a land-rich nation, which […]

In recent years, asset management has become a very popular discipline in the public works community. Simply put, asset management revolves around the optimizing of resources. In the public works realm, finances are finite. It is important to know that monies are being spent in the most responsible and well thought out way possible. Identifying […]

You have the wife and kids packed into the station wagon. It’s a nice fall day, and you are out for a drive. The wife is reminding you that when you get home, the trash needs taking out, the lawn needs mowing, the windows need cleaning, and on and on. In the back seat, the […]

We learn something new about Coronavirus on what seems like a daily basis. This was especially true back in early March. There was so much uncertainty surrounding the pandemic that all of a sudden everything was either shut down or cancelled. During the early stages, before workplaces were ordered to close, we wondered what type […]

It can be very overwhelming to try to follow all the news on the Corona virus. What is known about the virus and its long-term effects advance daily, but one thing is for sure: everything is changing. Many aspects of everyday life have already changed for most of us, and modifications will need to occur […]

Replacing your local road might not seem like much of task. It may look like the alignment of the road didn’t change at all or it may look like the new road was just put back exactly where it was before. When a road is replaced, some of the most significant geometric changes to the […]

My GIS colleague, Jeff Miller, wrote a great article titled “Demystifying GIS.”  His article stated that he is in the business of making maps. He does make maps and they are awesome, or as we like to say, “AEWsome.” I completely understand his challenge, though, when trying to explain his profession to someone. Surveying is just […]

Allow me to give you a glimpse into a conversation that I and many of my GIS colleagues have had when discussing what we do for a living with a new acquaintance.“So what do you do?”“I’m in the GIS department at a civil engineering firm.”“What is GIS?”Long, awkward pause…“I make maps…” I’ve been doing GIS […]

July, 2020 Many changes have occurred in our office in the past year. AEW is undergoing a complete interior renovation. Since we were still occupying the building (prior to Stay Home Stay Safe orders[1]) the renovations needed to happen in phases while we shuffled around the building. Phase One started in Fall 2019 and the […]