Chicago

Geotechnical Engineer Bush retires with over 30 years government service Leslie Bush receives an award during her retirement ceremony, 11-20-21 Thirty-one years ago, as a civil engineer summer hire for the Coastal and Geotechnical Engineering Section, Leslie Bush’s primary assignment was oversight of the geotechnical subsurface investigation activities for the west reach of the Little Calumet River, Indiana, Local Flood Protection and Recreation Project. “I worked on the West Reach subsurface investigation that consisted of soil sampling, use of drill rigs, and soil classification and testing for over 120 boreholes,” she said. The work required her to ensure the subsurface investigation was performed according to the scope of work, and that boring log documentation was thorough and that all required laboratory testing data was submitted to the district. A year later, in 1991, when she was hired as a full-time civil engineer in the Coastal and Geotechnical Engineering Section, her first assignment was to complete geotechnical design for levee system components of the same project. For approximately 15 years, she completed geotechnical design and eventually served as a technical lead for numerous sets of plans and specifications. Yesterday, the district joined Bush in celebrating her retirement and she said that, in her entire stretch here, completing design work, being an effective Value Engineering officer and Quality Program Manager, and executing security manager duties each provided highlights to her career. “It was very rewarding to carry work from the geotechnical investigation phase to design completion with the award of plans & specifications, to save the district a cumulative of approximately $87 million through use of Value Engineering techniques, and to ensure the district remained compliant with regard to Quality Management and security requirements,” she said. Other jobs she held included serving as the district’s Quality Program Manager for approximately 20 years, [...]