UCA Division officer nominations

Chair LEON “LONNIE” JACOBS , P.E., CSP, F. ASCE, has more than 40 years of heavy civil and underground construction experience in the New York metropolitan area. He began his underground construction career in 1982 as a co-op student with the joint venture of McLean-Grove, Grow Tunneling and Kiewit, later holding several engineering roles on the New York City Third Water Tunnel after graduation. In 1988, he joined Perini as a project engineer on numerous transit and wastewater projects throughout the New York City region before moving to Frontier-Kemper in 1995. In January 2024, Jacobs joined Halmar International as executive vice president. Over the past four decades, Jacobs has helped construct many major projects, including the 138th Street and 145th Street Bridges between Riverside Drive and the North River Water Pollution Control Plant over the Henry Hudson Parkway; New York City Department of Environmental Protection Water Tunnel Shaft 26B; the 26 Ward Water Pollution Control Plant Pilot Program; the New Croton Aqueduct Rehabilitation Project; the TBTA Queens Midtown Tunnel Rehabilitation Project; the NJ Transit Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Weehawken Tunnel/Bergenline Avenue Station Project; MTA East Side Access Manhattan North Structures; and the Cleaning and Inspection of City Tunnel No. 3, Stage 2, in Queens and Brooklyn. Jacobs’ responsibilities have spanned nearly every aspect of heavy construction, including project management, engineering, design, scheduling, cash flow, insurance, safety, accounts payable and receivable, payroll, estimating, budgeting, risk management, quality control, change order negotiation, equipment customization and design, value engineering, claims, depositions, human resources and strategic planning. He has also testified in court and before dispute resolution boards and arbitrators. In addition to his project experience, Jacobs has served in leadership roles with several industry associations and presented at numerous conferences. He currently serves as Chair of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration’s (SME) Underground Construction Association, president of the General Contractors Association of New York, and vice chair of The Moles Award Committee. He has also served on the George Fox Conference Committee since 2007, including as chairman in 2008, 2009, 2015 and 2016; as vice chair of the 2016 World Tunneling Conference; and on the North American Tunnel Conference planning committee for the 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018 conferences. Jacobs also chaired the 2018 UCA North American Tunnel Conference. Jacobs earned a bachelor of science, cum laude, in civil engineering from Northeastern University in Boston in 1985 and a master of science in construction management from Brooklyn Polytechnic University in 1988. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia and is also a board-certified Safety Professional. Jacobs is a member of The Moles, Chi Epsilon Civil Engineering Honor Society, the Underground Construction Association of SME, the New York State Society of Professional Engineers and the American Society of Safety Professionals. He was recently named a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

UCA Division officer nominations

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Mining Engineering’s Weekly Rundown: Episode 74

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Mining Engineering’s Weekly Rundown: Episode 74

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To view the past issues of the UCA magazine you must be a member of SME/UCA.

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