AMA/DBF marks milestone

AMA/DBF-engineered Waterview Hotel Scrap Tire Removal Project

Salisbury, Md. — Davis, Bowen & Friedel, Inc. (DBF) recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of Andrews, Miller & Associates’ (AMA) addition to the firm. Formed in 1974, AMA was quickly established in the region as a leader in marine and coastal engineering services. Their clients included individuals and municipalities throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, as well as entities such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Traveling across Delmarva, it isn’t difficult to find evidence of their expertise: the municipal marina in Cambridge, Md., Delaware’s Lewes boat ramps, Annapolis’s city marina, or protection of Fort Story’s shoreline in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

AMA’s array of engineering services seemed a logical addition to the already extensive list of DBF’s architecture, engineering and survey capabilities. As a result, DBF acquired the firm of AMA in 2007, and the coastal engineering specialists became known as Andrews, Miller & Associates, a Division of Davis, Bowen & Friedel, Inc. (AMA/DBF). In 2012, their Cambridge office – under the leadership of Edward T. Fulford, P.E. – relocated to Easton, Md.

The unparalleled skills and knowledge of AMA/DBF’s new team expanded the firm’s in-house services to create a stronger, more diversified firm which could better meet the growing requirements of clients across the region while exceeding expectations.

“The central location of our Easton office allows us to better serve clients in all regions of the Mid-Atlantic,” stated DBF principal Jason Loar. “These locations include portions of the western shore and southern Maryland, the Eastern Shore from Cecil to Somerset Counties, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area, and all of Delaware.”

Since the acquisition, AMA/DBF has continued to amass an impressive catalog of projects. Brief summaries for a couple of their most recent are highlighted below.

64th Street Boat Ramp & Dredge Project — AMA/DBF provided design for a two lane, ADA accessible boat ramp facility in Ocean City, Md. The newly constructed ramp improvements included vinyl wingwalls and jetties to assist boaters in launching and retrieving their vessels. The firm also provided wetland creation and mitigation services.

Parking for the facility was divided with 31 spaces for vehicles using the ramp, and a channel, approximately 1,750 feet long by 40 feet wide was mechanically dredged to provide adequate access to the boat ramp from the Assawoman Bay. A dredged material placement (DMP) site was designed to accept the excavated material from this project.

Waterview Hotel Scrap Tire Removal Project — The shoreline along the former Waterview Hotel site near Nanticoke, Md., consisted of scrap tires that had been placed for shoreline stabilization since the 1970s. Over the years, the tires failed to protect the shoreline and erosion occurred.

In 2006, the Maryland Dept. of Environment secured the necessary funds through its Maryland State Used Tire Recycling Fund to discard the tires and transform the eroded coastline into a living shoreline.

AMA/DBF was contracted as the lead engineer for this project with design services including topographical and bathymetric surveying, permit procurement, design development, and construction administration.

Final design included placing sand fill material behind the stone sill to establish tidal wetlands growth areas. A 5,000-square-foot area was filled with roughly 150 cubic yards of clean sand and placed in areas where tidal wetlands did not previously exist.