Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Joseph Bachta's Life's Work

I have wanted to compile a list of all the projects that Dad was responsible for as a major steel fabricator.  Dad liked to cite the number of years that he was in the business, 59 years was his latest count.
To compile this list, I was led to the basement, vault and bookcases at 90 Day Street.  What I found in my search was overwhelming.  There are, literally hundreds of bridges and buildings throughout the northeast that were fabricated by Dad.  He was a master in his field, a teacher to all and generous in the giving of his knowledge in the business that he loved.
Seeing him in action the last seven years that I worked by his side was amazing.  He could captivate a room full of engineers and designers with his knowledge, he sought out the most difficult and challenging steel fabrication projects, he built the first steel trapezoidal box girders in the country, and people in the industry from Maine to California came to him for his expertise.
From the hundreds of bridges and buildings that Dad built, I picked out just a few that I know he was especially proud of as owner of International Bridge and Iron Company (1992 through 2010) and from when he ran Standard Structural Steel Company (1961 through 1991).
Joseph  Bachta’s Life’s Work
Gold Star Memorial Bridge, Groton to New London, CT (Nominated for Construction Man of the Year in 1975 by Engineering News Record for his work on this bridge)
Americas Tower, 1177 Avenue of the Americas, Manhattan, NY
85 Broad Street, Manhattan, NY
Philip Morris Building, Manhattan, NY
Trident Submarine Base, Groton, NY (weekly breakfasts with Admiral Rickover to status job)
International Place, Boston, MA
Dewey Square, Boston, MA
CT Yankee Atomic Power Plant, Haddam Neck, CT
Boston Central Artery /Tunnel “The Big Dig”, Boston, MA
Bell Atlantic Tower, Philadelphia, PA (first structure taller than the Benjamin Franklin statue)
Logan Airport Spine Truss, Boston, MA
George H Henderson Memorial Bridge, Province to East Providence, RI
Thames River Bridge, Montville, CT (to Foxwoods)
Hartford National Bank and Trust Building, Hartford, CT
Route 8 over Naugatuck River, Waterbury, CT
The Hartford Insurance Building, Hartford, CT
Interstate Highway Bridge 505 over Hoxie Gorge, Cortland, NY
Gilmore Bridge, Cambridge, MA
Bradley International Airport Roadway and Viaduct Improvements, Windsor Locks, CT
Whitestone Bridge Expressway Approach Spans, Flushing, NY
Mass Ave I-93/I-90 Interchange, Boston, MA
Founders Bridge, Hartford, CT
Floydville Rd over Salmon Brook, Granby, CT (to the airport)
I-95 Retrofit, Bridgeport, CT
Long Island RR Atlantic Avenue Viaduct, Brooklyn, NY
World Trade Center 9A Underpass, Manhattan, NY
World Trade Center Transportation Hub, Manhattan, NY (Roof and support structure in the hole left by the twin tower collapse.  He also built the first 5 stories of the original twin towers, the steel that remained standing after that 9/11 attack on the USA)

And hundreds more...So, wherever you go in the Northeast, you will ride over a bridge or pass by a building that Joe Bachta built.

Not many people were worthy of carrying your briefcase, Dad.  Love, Linda

Friday, February 11, 2011

Eulogy From Dan Lough

                                     I am a Son-In-Law

From the instant I became a part of this family, he was Dad to me and Dziadzi to our kids.

I don't use the word "Dad" lightly.

You see, my Dad died when he was just 45 years old.

The loss of my Father left a big hole in my heart.

My wife, Linda, had her Dad till he was 84.  I think about how lucky she was.

No one can take the place of your Father, but this Dad sure filled a gap in my heart.

I can tell you this>>the pain of losing a Dad never goes away.

He touched my heart and with his passing my heart aches once more.

But I will cherish every memory and every moment I got to share with my Father-in-law,
my Dad>>Forever!

In loving memory:  Dan Lough

Saturday, December 4, 2010

A Time for Everything

A Reading from the book of Ecclesiastes 3: 1-13


A TIME FOR EVERYTHING


Everything that happens in this world happens at the time God chooses.
He sets the time for birth and the time for death, the time for planting and the time for pulling up, the time for killing and the time for healing, the time for tearing down and the time for building.

He sets the time for sorrow and the time for joy, the time for mourning and the time for dancing, the time for embracing and the time for being embraced.

He sets the time for finding and the time for losing, the time for saving and the time for throwing away, the time for tearing and the time for mending, the time for silence and the time for talk.

He sets the time for love and the time for hate, the time for war and the time for peace.

What do we gain from all our work?  I know the heavy burdens that God has laid on us.  He has set the right time for everything.  He has given us a desire to know the future, but never gives us the satisfaction of fully understanding what he does.  So I realized that all we can do is be happy and do the best we can while we are still alive.  All of us should eat and drink and enjoy what we have worked for.  It is God’s gift.

Joe Bachta's Obituary

Joseph A. (Joe) Bachta, 84, of West Hartford, died unexpectedly November 29, 2010 at Hartford Hospital.  He was the beloved husband of Marian (Bielanski) Bachta, “his love” of 61 years.  Joseph is also survived by his three adoring children, daughter Diane Zalewski, her husband Eddy and their child Sarah and her husband Alok; son Robert Bachta, his wife Kate and their child Jacob; and daughter Linda Lough, her husband Dan and their children Kate, Drew, and Ryan.  Joseph is also survived by his sister Mary Dec. Joseph was born March 14, 1926 in Auburn, NY, son of the late Bernard and Victoria Bachta.  He attended Auburn High School, where he was a four-letterman, and graduated early to serve proudly as an Air Force Cadet and in the US Air Force during WWII.  He graduated from Northeastern University in 1951 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. He pursued his passion as one of the greatest engineering minds in structural steel fabrication, first with City Iron Works, then Standard Structural Steel Company, and finally as the proud owner and President of International Bridge and Iron Company.  Joseph has left a lasting imprint on the infrastructure of the Northeast, fabricating the structural steel for many of the region’s bridges and high rise buildings, including the Gold Star Memorial Bridge from Groton to New London, Dewey Square in Boston, 1177 Avenue of the Americas in NYC, and The Bell Atlantic Tower in Philadelphia.  Joseph became a Professional Engineer in 1956, was nominated as “Construction Man of the Year” in 1975, and was voted by his peers as a lifetime member of the Society of Professional Engineers in 1992.  Joseph was a devout Roman Catholic who saw the good in all people, and with his unfailing optimism he accomplished great things.  He gathered his family each year in Hilton Head for the beach, tennis and golf and to Saratoga and Lake George for the races and fun. He taught them to stick together and to cherish family.  He loved his wife Marian “his angel”, his children, and his grand children.  He was husband, Dad, and Dziadzi to them individually, but a hero and an inspiration to them all.  His life, his heart, and his soul will live on in those who loved him so.

Calling hours are on Thursday, December 2, 2010 from 4 – 7 p.m. at Taylor and Modeen Funeral Home, 136 South Main Street, West Hartford.  Relatives and friends are invited to gather at the funeral home on Friday December 3, 2010 at 9:15 a.m. for a procession to St. Peter Claver Church, West Hartford, where a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Burial with military honors will follow at Fairview Cemetery, West Hartford.  In lieu of flowers, we ask that contributions in Joseph Bachta’s memory be made to the Department of Civil Engineering, 118 Cushing Hall, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115.  If you prefer to make an online contribution, visit www.northeastern.edu/giveonline. Select “Other” and enter “Civil Engineering Department”.  Under “Gift Dedication”, please designate “in memory of Joseph Bachta”.  For directions and online condolences, please visit www.taylorandmodeen.com.