NEWS
Rogers-based engineering firm one of 16 Arkansas businesses to earn a Gold rating
The League of American Bicyclists has recognized Crafton Tull with a Gold Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB) award, earning the company a place alongside more than 1,100 businesses across the country contributing to the movement to build a more Bicycle Friendly America for everyone.
“When businesses support biking, they strengthen the communities they serve,” said Bill Nesper, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists. “Across industries, from nonprofits cultivating more active workplaces to transportation planning firms designing inclusive streetscapes, Bicycle Friendly Businesses like Crafton Tull are building a healthier, more connected America.”
Crafton Tull is one of 16 businesses with a Gold rating in Arkansas and more than 1,140 nationwide designated as Bicycle Friendly Businesses. These businesses include everything from government agencies, Fortune 500 companies, museums, hospitality establishments, bike shops, and other employers, all united in a commitment to transform American workplaces to be more welcoming to both customers and employees who bike. The Bicycle Friendly Business award recognizes an organization’s contributions in shifting up and accelerating the movement to build a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone.
The Crafton Tull team takes monthly group bike rides
Depot Park Remains a Central Community Landmark for Russellville
Russellville's Depot Park is an outdoor community square and event space that regularly hosts various local gatherings filled with live music, food, and activities for all ages. Main Street Russellville (a local nonprofit community development organization) hosts the local farmer's market and various community events in the park, averaging around 100 events each year. In April 2024, Main Street Russellville hosted its award-winning three-day Moon Over Main eclipse festival, and the Depot Park stage was the center of the event. The event included 13 live music acts, presentations by NASA, and a glow-in-the-dark dance party, which has become an annual event. Main Street Russellville also hosts a public safety and health expo, a concert series, and movies in the park. Community members and organizations can also rent the stage and park area.
A Bright Idea: Magnets Make Lighting Milwaukee’s Daniel Hoan Memorial Bridge Possible
It takes more than electricity to light a bridge. That’s something Crafton Tull engineers learned firsthand when they were tasked with helping to illuminate the Daniel Hoan Memorial Bridge in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The project involved creativity, real-world testing, and collaboration to produce a solution for lighting bridge without compromising its strength.
Paul Zimmerman, Vice President of the Koontz Electric Co. High Voltage Division, said when Koontz was awarded this project, they knew the biggest challenge was how to attach items to the bridge without drilling, tapping or welding. That’s when Koontz reached out to Crafton Tull’s Hot Springs office, which was then B&F Engineering.
Dustin Ward, P.E., S.E., a Vice President in Crafton Tull's Structural Engineering division, said affixing anything to a bridge must be done with extreme caution. Some bridges can have mechanical attachments, such as welded studs or bolted plates, but the Hoan bridge contains components that are considered “nonredundant steel tension members” (previously called “fracture-critical”), which meant it wasn’t that simple.
