LEXINGTON, Ky. — WSP USA, an engineering, environment, and professional services consultancy, is expanding its staff and operations in Kentucky to serve the transportation and environmental needs of the state, becoming one of its largest engineering and mobility services providers.

“In just one year, WSP’s professional staff serving Kentucky has grown from 35 to more than 200 employees,” said Mark Polston, a senior vice president for WSP Advisory, based in the firm’s Lexington office. “This has created opportunities for our firm to support more projects across the commonwealth and in the metro areas of Lexington, Louisville, and northern Kentucky while continuing to provide our existing clients with a full slate of expertise they’ve come to expect from us.”

This substantial increase has been realized through both organic and acquisition growth, including the arrival of 100 employees through the acquisition of the environment and infrastructure (E&I) business of Wood PLC in September 2022.

With the acquisition of E&I, along with the 2021 acquisition of environmental services firm Golder, WSP is positioned to support public and private organizations in Kentucky and address their complex infrastructure program challenges, deploying services covering multiple business lines. In addition to transportation and mobility, WSP offers services in water resources, climate resiliency and sustainability, power and energy, environment, emergency and disaster management, buildings, and advisory.

“WSP is focused on the future through our Future Ready® approach to serving our clients and protecting our environment,” said Chris Barrow, Kentucky transportation local business lead. “Not only do we provide our Kentucky clients with a growing presence on the ground with three offices in the commonwealth, but they can benefit from access to our national resources for just about any engineering and environmental service needed to complete projects in a timely, resilient, sustainable, cost-effective manner.” 

Currently, WSP is supporting the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) as prime engineer for its National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) implementation. In this role, WSP is coordinating team members for all major elements of the program, leading sessions, conducting research, providing technological expertise, and advising KYTC on the solicitation and selection of private-sector firms to receive NEVI funds for the build out of an electric vehicle (EV) charging network across the state. WSP is assisting KYTC in carrying out a plan tailored for Kentucky that addresses federal requirements for EV charging stations and best leverages federal funds for a charging station network on all of Kentucky’s major interstates and parkways.

As a way to share its expertise with this emerging technology, WSP was a premier sponsor of the Kentuckians for Better Transportation Conference.

WSP served as prime consultant for the ramp improvements to Interstate 64 westbound to Interstate 264 westbound in northern Kentucky, evaluating improvements and completing preliminary and final design. Since its completion in 2019, the new ramp has significantly improved driver safety and drastically reduced travel time from an average exceeding 19 minutes to roughly three minutes.

WSP also supports the RiverLink Tolling System back office and customer service contract, which covers two tolled bridges crossing the Ohio River between Kentucky and Indiana. This opportunity will add more than 60 jobs to the Louisville market in the first half of 2023 as the team provides the people power to support customers using the I-65 Ohio River bridges.