TPD joined forces again this year with a variety of organizations to collaborate on the third annual Shared Interns program, which is an initiative developed through the transportation industry’s Total Quality Initiative (TQI). The program’s purpose is to expose interns from various agencies, consultants, and contractors to the diverse aspects of the transportation engineering and construction industry. Tony Dougherty, TPD’s Vice President of Construction Services, is a participant on the Eastern Regional Operating Committee (ROC) and Damon Rhodes, Director at TPD, serves on the Western ROC, therefore TPD had the pleasure of participating with both regions!
Western Region Participation
On Thursday, July 9th, TPD was proud to host the Western ROC’s group of interns, which included a day of exploration of downtown Pittsburgh, and learning more about urban planning, as well as the difficulties that come with construction in a big city.
The 24 interns explored the recently redesigned Market Square, which was transformed to host the 2026 NFL Draft. They learned how the project team kept local businesses open throughout construction while completing the work within an ambitious one-year timeline.
Then, they visited the Fort Pitt Museum to learn about Pittsburgh’s early history and see how urban planning and infrastructure have shaped the city from its founding to the present day.
Next was a tour of the new Arts Landing and learning how it has created a welcoming public gathering space along the riverfront. As one of the few open green spaces in downtown Pittsburgh with built-in event infrastructure, it can accommodate large community events such as the Three Rivers Arts Festival and Picklesburgh.
Finally, the students heard from Pittsburgh’s very own, Mayor Corey O’Connor, who shared his experience serving on City Council during the 2022 Fern Hollow Bridge collapse and discussed the ongoing challenge of maintaining Pittsburgh’s diverse and aging infrastructure.
It was a great opportunity to see how engineering, planning, construction, and community engagement come together to shape the places where people live, work, and gather.
Eastern Region Participation
For the third year running, the PTO hosted the Eastern ROC’s 31 participating interns on July 16th, who were visiting each organizations’ office on a weekly rotation for educational sessions and hands-on learning opportunities. TPD has seven (7) interns that participated – other participants included interns from PennDOT Districts 5-0 and 6-0, the PA Turnpike Eastern Region Office, ACEC/PA member firms, as well as APC member firms.
TPD’s planning committee put together a well-rounded agenda that showcased our engineering services, CM/CI, and the business side of consulting companies. We held this even in conjunction with our office’s annual Ice Cream Bash for interns to get a glimpse into TPD’s company culture and the fun things we do! As you could guess, it was a hit with the interns, especially with the overly warm weather!
Our programs would not have been possible without our hardworking staff, who worked hard to prepare, present, participate, and plan! Click here to see photos from the events!
