Congratulations to KCA’s new Vice Presidents
We are pleased to announce the promotions of some of KCA’s leaders to Vice President and Senior Vice President. They have performed exceptionally in winning new work and managing their jobs and staff. They are all a great asset to KCA and our desire to maintain and promote our reputation for excellence. Please take a moment to congratulate them!
Debbie Barbour, PE
Ms. Barbour has 38 years of experience and serves as KCA’s Regional Design Manager in our Raleigh, NC office. She is responsible for planning and design activities that KCA performs in North Carolina, marketing the firm’s qualifications, and securing preconstruction-related work. During her 32-year career with NCDOT, she gained knowledge and work experience regarding all major phases of highway preconstruction project development including planning, design, right-of-way (R/W) acquisition, and environmental permitting. She held the position of the Director of Preconstruction with NCDOT for 12 years. As Director of Preconstruction, she had the opportunity to oversee the Project Development and Environmental Analysis (PDEA), Highway Design, R/W, and Traffic Engineering Branches. She also served as Highway Design Branch Manager and has held various positions within the Roadway Design Unit, including Unit Head. She was in charge of all planning and design activity within North Carolina. She earned her BSCE from North Carolina State University and joined KCA in 2015.
Sam Cullum, PE
Mr. Cullum has 17 years of experience in structural rehabilitation, design, and inspection. He serves as KCA’s Structures Department Manager and Office Manager in our Raleigh, NC office. He specializes in bridge and structures rehabilitation, and his background involves design and inspection work varying from single-span grade separations to major river crossings. As a result of this experience, Mr. Cullum is well suited to serve the needs of facility owners and personnel in the fields of design and rehabilitation. He is knowledgeable of Full Bridge Design (LFD/LRFD), NBIS Bridge Inspection, Bridge Rehabilitation, Bridge Load Ratings, GT Strudl, Conspan, PS-Beam, RC-Pier, L-Pile, Microsoft Products, PCA Column, Ansys Civil, GeoMath, AutoCAD, MicroStation and WinSCP. Additionally, Mr. Cullum has a broad range of rehabilitation experience including seawall repair, complex timber greenway structures rehabilitation, highway girder bridges, culverts, to high level post tensioned and movable structures. He earned his MSCE and BSCE from the University of Kentucky and joined KCA in 2009.
Gerald Hilton
Mr. Hilton has 54 years of experience including 30 years with NCDOT, retiring as a Resident Engineer in Salisbury, Division 9. Since coming to KCA in 1997 as an Area Manager, he has been responsible for managing project specific and on-call CEI, contracts in North Carolina including state, municipalities, and private construction. He has built the North Carolina CEI group from the ground up to its current remarkable staffing level of 58. He is responsible for hiring, training, and assigning technicians to staff division wide and project-specific positions. He schedules on-site visits and meetings to evaluate the work and assess the progress of the projects and with clients to ensure KCA is meeting their expectations.
Davis Diggs, PE
Mr. Diggs has 29 years of experience administering major transportation construction projects and serves as KCA’s Regional Manager for CEI pursuits in North Carolina. He has 24 years of experience with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) where he managed Construction and Maintenance operations. He has managed for compliance all aspects of construction including submittals, right-of-way acquisition, utility relocation, ITS installation, construction activities, and environmental sustainability. Mr. Diggs facilitated problem solving strategies where necessary and acted as a liaison with local, state, and federal officials as well as the public and media. He earned his BSCE from North Carolina State University and joined KCA in 2020.
Kellie Loper, PE
Mr. Loper has 20 years of invaluable experience in the Construction Engineering Inspection (CEI) industry. He currently serves as the Florida CEI Manager for KCA. His CEI experience has included various roles such as Inspector Aide, Inspector, Senior Inspector/CSS, Project Engineer, and Senior Project Engineer. He has experience in inspection and oversight of all aspects of asphalt, concrete, earthwork, drainage, structures, and major bridge operations. He is also experienced in CPM schedule reviews, preparation/participation in Disputes Review Board (DRB) hearings, negotiation and claim settlement. Mr. Loper has experience as a Structures Design Engineer with responsibilities including load rating analysis, structure analysis, bridge/structure design, quality control, plans preparation, shop drawing review, cost estimating, and emergency inspection and repair. Mr. Loper also has experience working with KCA’s bridge inspection department. He earned his MSCE and BSCE from the University of Florida and has been with KCA for his entire professional career.
