1 included the design and construction of 231 drilled shafts. Niedzielski’s geotech- nical group conducted complex finite element analyses for drilled shafts adjacent to an existing baggage cart tunnel and other drilled shafts situated between an active high-pressure jet fuel line and an existing retaining wall. The Phoenix Sky Train includes the world’s first mass transit bridge over an active taxiway. Post-design geotech- nical inspection on foundations and pavement areas alone involved 10,000 labor hours, and the firm had to bring in geotechnical staff from other offices in Florida, Pennsylvania and New Mexico. Niedzielski’s post-design services included acting as geotechnical consultant to the Aviation Department and program manager when construction problems arose. The Sky Train’s first phase cost $800 million, and the second and final phase is not yet scheduled. Industry Involvement The Sky Train also led him to DFI, when he presented a paper on the project at the annual conference in 2009. He found the DFI annual conference more “practical” compared to other professional organi- zations’ conferences with its focus on case histories. In 2013, he served as a session chair for the annual conference in Phoenix. Niedzielski has also served on the DFI Electric Power Systems Foundations Working Group. Niedzielski works for engineering firms, contractors and owners, sometimes on the same job for the Arizona DOT. He suggests that his experience with construction monitoring enables him to foresee con- tractors’ problems and to offer input. He estimates that he has been able to work in a post-design capacity about 10 or 12 times on DOT projects. At Gannett, Niedzielski says work involving dams constitutes most of the geotechnical group’s work in Phoenix; however his specialty is non-dam work. He sees his niche as investigations, analysis and reports, spec writing, and construction monitoring. For example, at Tempe Towne Lake Dam, he developed the geotechnical instrumentation monitoring program, which included monitoring a building next to the dam excavations using inclinometers, tiltmeters, extensometers and survey points. Looking ahead, he sees more alternative delivery methods in the construction world and more competition for contractors. Music and Math Many people see a connection between through 12 grade. In high school he was in the concert band, marching band, jazz band and orchestra. Everyone in his immediate family played one or more instruments, he says, and he has a few hundred CDs at home, mostly classic rock with some jazz, blues, bluegrass, Broadway shows and classical music. He and his wife, Carol, enjoy attending concerts, musicals or shows. They also like to travel and hike trails locally and in national parks in Southern Utah and Arizona, including the Grand Canyon. They took their first trip to Europe together in September 2015 after 20 years of marriage. Between his passion for his work and his music, Niedzielski is truly a “lucky man.” point. He played the trumpet from 4 grade th math and music. Niedzielski is a case in th 72 • DEEP FOUNDATIONS • NOV/DEC 2016
