"Make it Monday" forum - 2024 Summer Construction Update

Melinda Kohlhaas, Project Manager / Acting Director at the Municipality of Anchorage, Project Management & Engineering Department, and John Linell, P.E., Central Region Deputy Director at the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities will inform members of what road improvements are in progress, and what to expect from the remaining 2024 construction season.
 

Melinda Kohlhaas, P.E. is a professional civil engineer with over 31 years of engineering experience.  A week after graduating from the University of Washington, she came up to Anchorage for a summer visit and decided Alaska was a great place to live and work.  

She started her career working in the private sector designing sanitation improvements throughout Rural Alaska for 13 years.  In 2005, she began work with the Municipality of Anchorage initially working for Anchorage Water & Wastewater Utility and later joined the Project Management & Engineering (PM&E) Department in 2008.

She is currently working as PM&E’s Acting Director overseeing the design and construction of capital improvement projects for roadways, drainage systems, and facilities for active transportation use.  She finds great satisfaction in serving Anchorage residents by delivering projects.  And for fun, she enjoys walks with her husband on the Chester Creek trail system, pickleball, traveling abroad, and binge-watching shows!
 

John Linnell is a professional civil engineer with 30 years of specialized transportation experience. As a UAA student in the early 1990s, John began working for Central Region DOT&PF as an intern. After graduation, John worked for R&M Consultants for two years before going back to DOT&PF.  While at DOT&PF he has worked in successive positions as an engineering assistant, squad leader, and project manager. During his time in design, he developed the Minnesota Dr and International Airport Interchange and was the Project manager for the Trunk Road Realignment project.  John expanded upon his transportation expertise as group chief in Traffic, Safety, Utilities and Right of Way sections assisting the department’s efforts to update and modernize the statewide utility and right of way manuals. He subsequently served as the preconstruction engineer for several years. In March 2021, John accepted the role of Deputy Director at Central Region. John enjoys spending time in the outdoors with family and friends doing all of the typical Alaska activities; hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, skiing, snow machining, and exploring all that our great state has to offer.  

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