Ralph Verrastro, PE has been selected to receive the 2018 Engineer of the Year Award by the Florida Engineering Society. He received the Engineer of the Year Award from the Calusa Chapter of the Florida Engineering Society on June 14, 2018 and he is scheduled to receive the statewide Engineer of the Year Award at the Annual Conference for the Florida Engineering Society in Marco Island on August 3, 2018. Ralph is currently serving as the Zone 6 (Southwest Florida) Vice President for the Florida Engineering Society and as the Zone 6 Regional Director for the American Council of Engineering Companies of Florida (ACECFL).

Alison Bickett, Awards Chair with Ralph Verrastro and Rolando Corsa

Ralph graduated from Cornell University in 1976 and is a licensed engineer in 37 states. He is currently the Principal Engineer/Owner of Bridging Solutions, LLC with offices in Naples and Tampa. Bridging Solutions, LLC provides specialized bridge and structural engineering services in the Land Development and Transportation market sectors to public and private clients throughout Florida. Bridging Solutions is an approved Continuing Education Provider by the Florida Board of Professional Engineers and Ralph frequently provides technical seminars at engineering industry conferences. He has also written technical papers for statewide and national engineering publications. His technical areas of expertise include:

• Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) using prefabricated bridge elements.
• Inspection and evaluation of historic metal truss and concrete arch bridges.
• Specialty engineer for the design of precast concrete bridge elements.
• Evaluation and repair of flood and scour damaged bridges.
• Development of bridge maintenance programs for local municipalities.
• Expert witness testimony related to bridge design and construction claims.