{"id":20588,"date":"2025-10-15T09:52:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T13:52:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.archtam.com\/blog\/?p=20588"},"modified":"2025-10-15T09:52:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T13:52:21","slug":"people-spotlight-meet-larry-wade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.archtam.com\/blog\/people-spotlight-meet-larry-wade\/","title":{"rendered":"People Spotlight: Meet Larry Wade"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our People Spotlight<\/em> series<\/a> gives you an inside look at our technical experts around the world. This week, we are highlighting a civil engineer from our Water business in the U.S. and providing an insight into their inspiration and work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A civil engineer with seven years of combined experience, Larry Wade previously worked for the Virginia Department of Transportation, where he focused on environmental design for transportation and infrastructure projects. That experience paved the way for his current role as a stream restoration designer on ArchTam\u2019s team, where he continues to apply his expertise in environmental engineering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Larry resides in Roanoke, Virginia with his wife and their dog. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, hiking, running and exploring the outdoors, activities that reflect his love for nature and adventure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Tell us about what inspired you to join the industry.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up, I was drawn to the outdoors and spent my free time outside, typically hiking, fishing, biking or running. At the same time, I loved STEM subjects like math, physics, chemistry and biology, and I dreamed of finding a career that could combine my passion for nature with my interest in science. That\u2019s what led me to study environmental science and engineering in college, where I discovered how conservation and recreation could intersect with solving engineering problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, my career has evolved from focusing on environmental science to working on engineering and design projects. What keeps me inspired is seeing how infrastructure can create meaningful benefits for both communities and the environment, all while advancing sustainability goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

\n I dreamed of finding a career that could combine my passion for nature with my interest in science. What keeps me inspired is seeing how infrastructure can create meaningful benefits for both communities and the environment, all while advancing sustainability goals. <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

What is your favorite ArchTam project that you\u2019ve worked on and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favorite project at ArchTam so far has been the College Lake Dam<\/a> removal in Lynchburg, Virginia. The dam, classified as a high-hazard structure, posed a significant safety risk to the surrounding community. Its removal was necessary to eliminate the potential for dam failure and to restore the ecological integrity of Blackwater Creek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since construction began last January, I\u2019ve been supporting construction oversight and administration for the City of Lynchburg. The project involves removing the dam, restoring more than 4,000 feet of stream and creating floodplain wetlands, all of which will deliver long-term safety, environmental and community benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most rewarding aspects of this project has been collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders. This includes the City, the contractor, our subcontractors, the neighboring university and technical teams across ArchTam, from dam engineers and construction specialists to environmental experts. Each group brought unique expertise that helped make this project a success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

\n One of the most rewarding aspects of working on the College Lake Dam removal project has been collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders. This includes the City, the contractor, our subcontractors, the neighboring university and technical teams across ArchTam, from dam engineers and construction specialists to environmental experts. Each group brought unique expertise that helped make this project a success. <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Tell us a story of how your work positively impacted the community.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The College Lake Dam removal project is such a standout example of how a project can have a meaningful impact on a community. The project has significantly improved water quality in the river and eliminated the risk of dam failure. In addition, the restored river will provide a much higher aesthetic value and offer recreational opportunities in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond this project, many of our stream restoration efforts in the Mid-Atlantic, particularly within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, are driven by the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Program. These projects focus on reducing erosion by stabilizing streams, which improve watershed quality, but they also often enhance the aesthetics, and the recreational value for the communities they are located in. As civil engineers, we\u2019re deeply committed to serving the public by improving infrastructure but it\u2019s incredibly rewarding to work on stream restoration projects that frequently provide multiple other benefits to the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

\n Projects like the College Lake Dam removal focus on reducing erosion by stabilizing streams, which improve watershed quality, but they also often enhance the aesthetics, and the recreational value for the communities they are located in. <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Share a piece of career advice.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My advice, both for life and career, is to make learning a lifelong commitment. A dedication to continual learning not only helps you build a career that is interesting, challenging and rewarding, but also enables you to create meaningful benefits for your community. Achieving this requires asking lots of questions, seeking out the right mentors, and always striving to educate yourself and grow through training and new experiences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Larry is a civil engineer from our Water business in the U.S. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1085,"featured_media":20593,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[83,171],"tags":[6705,6458,6007,87,108],"yst_prominent_words":[458,2099,567,3753,2374,4067,706],"class_list":["post-20588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sustainability-and-resiliency","category-water","tag-dams-and-reservoirs","tag-flood-resilience","tag-people-spotlight","tag-sustainability","tag-water"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.archtam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.archtam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.archtam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.archtam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1085"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.archtam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20588"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.archtam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20588\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20604,"href":"https:\/\/www.archtam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20588\/revisions\/20604"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.archtam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.archtam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.archtam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.archtam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20588"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.archtam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=20588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}