Turner Collie & Braden
In the 1940s, the end of World War II marked the beginning of a new era, where triumphant American GIs came home to countless accolades and a nation on the verge of an industrial boom. Robert M. Collie and Nat P. Turner were among those GIs, who served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and who soon found themselves as partners in Houston-based Turner Collie & Braden and its predecessor firms of - Freese, Nichols, Turner & Collie (1951) and Turner & Collie Consulting Engineers (1965). Today, Turner Collie & Braden has 650 staff members in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio and Pharr, Texas; and Denver, Colorado.
Major turn-key projects throughout Texas have been a mainstay at the firm since its beginnings, with public works, transportation, water resources and land development services at the core of evolution. The list is extensive, but a brief glimpse into Turner Collie & Braden's past provides insight into its heritage.
Regionally significant programs completed by Turner Collie & Braden in its early days have shaped Texas as we know it today and include the master plan of Houston's and Harris County's sewerage system, Houston's East Water Purification Plan, the Southeast Water Purification Plant and the Northeast Water Plant.
From a transportation perspective, Turner Collie & Braden was responsible for a number of grade separations along Shepherd Drive, sections of the original Gulf Freeway, the Hardy Toll Road, the Grand Parkway in Houston, U.S. Highway 183 in Austin, East-West Connection in Dallas and Fort Worth, Port of Port Arthur, and sections of State Highway 249.
Signature land development programs that transformed undeveloped land into residential communities thousands call home include The Woodlands and Kingswood, and are accompanied by such commercial developments as NASA's Visitor Center, the Astrodome's, Astroworld, and Bayport Industrial, as well as the development of Colorado's Battle Mesa.
Making its mark in water resources and environmental management, Turner Collie & Braden completed such projects as a Limited Reevaluation Report, including complete environmental studies for Galveston Bay relating to the Houston Ship Channel, Hurricane Protection systems for Port Arthur, planning for the long term water supply planning for nearly half of the state of Texas, and environmental studies in some 30 states in support of the US Navy.
Since 1999, Turner Collie & Braden has won 25 awards from such professional organizations as American Council of Engineering Companies, Texas Council of Engineering Companies, American Water Works Association, and American Concrete Pavement Association, in a variety of categories including Water/Wastewater, Surveying & Mapping, Water Resources, Environmental and Special Projects.
As Turner Collie & Braden looks back at their history, they acknowledge those that contributed to their success, each having a vision and a goal. The notoriety of the founding principals is exemplified by Bob Braden's induction into the Texas Transportation Institute Hall of Honor, the first consultant to be admitted to this small and exclusive group. In recognizing his and their founders' efforts, they carry their legacy onward towards even greater achievements.
