LAN Expands Infrastructure Services in California with Four Key Hires

Planning, engineering and program management firm Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN) is expanding its infrastructure services in California.

To help with this expansion, LAN added four key hires. M. Cenk Yavas, P.E., D.WRE, joins the firm as vice president and water resources team leader. Frederick Wickman, P.E., joins the firm as a senior project manager. Mark Vargas and Brian Robertson, P.E., will serve as senior project coordinator and project engineer, respectively. The team, who previously worked at Atkins – a global civil engineering firm, brings more than 75 years of combined experience planning and designing infrastructure projects in various counties throughout California.

Since 1935, LAN has offered planning, engineering and program management services for the nation’s heavy civil infrastructure needs. Over the last two decades, LAN established offices in Los Angeles, Milpitas, Oakland, Orange, and Sacramento to provide transportation, water supply, and transmission services to municipal, state and federal clients in the state. With these new hires, the firm also will offer wastewater, stormwater, drainage, municipal planning, roadway, and land/site development services.

“Cenk, Fred, Mark and Brian have a deep understanding of the water, wastewater, stormwater and transportation issues in the state and their expertise will allow us to better address the needs of our clients and provide solutions that benefit the community,” said Sima Vajdani, P.E., LAN’s vice president and business group director – California.

Yavas has more than 28 years of experience in the design and construction of infrastructure projects such as pipelines, pump stations, reservoirs, storm drains and transportation facilities. He has lead the design of numerous Capital Improvement Programs (CIP) and has worked with various agencies, as well as coordinated extensively with regulatory permitting agencies.

Some of his notable projects in California include helping the Orange County Sanitation District make key improvements to its wastewater management facilities, rehabilitating the Laguna Canyon Channel for the City of Laguna Beach, managing the drainage tasks related to the development of the maintenance facilities of the Los Angeles World Airports complex, as well as serving as the chief drainage engineer for over 50 miles of toll roads in south Orange County. He also has been involved in two major design-build projects – the Alameda Corridor – Mid Trench, and Los Angeles Metro’s Chinatown Station.

Wickman has nearly 30 years of municipal engineering experience in both the public and private sectors. During his career, he has served as director of public works department for a number of agencies, including the City of Stanton, City of Rosemead, City of Baldwin Park, Villa Park and Los Alamitos. He recently served as project manager for development review services for a 14,000 home development in South Orange County for Orange County Planned Communities Department. He also worked as a senior project manager for various consulting engineering firms. Over the past 10 years, Wickman has been involved in the design and project management of a number of CIP roadway projects in California.

Vargas has more than twenty years of design experience involving various water and wastewater facilities, wells, waterlines, sewer lines, reservoirs, site grading, booster pump stations and highway drainage facilities. His background includes both AUTOCAD and Microstation environment.

Brian Robertson has approximately ten years of experience focusing on water, wastewater, stormwater, and reclaimed infrastructure projects, including the rehabilitation of sewer conveyance systems and channel reconstruction. His recent experience includes development review projects for Riverside County Flood Control District, Riverside County Transportation Department and Orange County Development Communities.