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1931-2004
Charles E. Mergentime
The National Academy of Construction lost one of its newest members, Charles E. (Charlie) Mergentime, P.E., F.ASCE, who was installed as a new member in October 2003. He passed away on February 22, 2004, at the young age of 72. In addition to serving as Chairman and CEO of MERCO, Inc. and President of Mergentime Corporation, Charlie had volunteered his service to ASCE as Founding President of the Construction Institute from October 1, 2000 until September 30, 2001, during which time he led the Board in actively pursuing corporate members and implementing new products and services for individual members. He also served on the ASCE task committee that developed CI’s bylaws and business plan.
Upon receiving a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Purdue University in 1953, Charlie began his construction career as an officer in the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, attending the Engineers Officers Basic Course at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. After graduation, like the rest of his class, Charlie’s planned assignment was cancelled and he was sent to Korea for 18 months. He earned commendations from the Republic of Korea for his command of a combat construction company on the Yang Po Bridge in Hongchon. After Korea in 1955, he joined Raymond Concrete Pile Company, where he headed up the boring and special drilling division. In 1969, he founded Mergentime Corporation, a heavy construction company that soon became synonymous with quality work and innovative solutions in tunneling, foundation, and underpinning projects, as well as bridge construction. Under Charlie’s leadership, the firm received more than one billion dollars in construction contracts, including significant portions of the subway systems in Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Consumers Nuclear Power Plant in Midland, MI; the District Court Building at Judiciary Square in Washington, D.C.; and Bergen Tunnel in Jersey City, NJ.
Charlie’s dedication to the construction industry was evident by his involvement in a number of organizations, where he often served as an officer or Board member. He was an active member of the Moles, serving as president in 1984, and The Beavers, serving as president in 1992 and as a Trustee to the Beavers Charitable Trust. He was the only person I believe who served as president of both organizations. He was also a member of the Associated General Contractors of New Jersey, the National Research Council’s Transportation Research Board, where he served on the Tunnels and Underground Structures Committee; the Society of American Military Engineers; the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; Transportation Research Board; and the American Public Transportation Association.
During the course of his 50-year career in construction, Charlie received numerous awards and recognition from his peers. In 1980, he was named a Distinguished Engineering Alumnus by Purdue University, which later honored him as an “Old Master” in 1983 and bestowed an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering in 1993. He also served for many years on the Dean’s Visiting Committee for the Purdue’s Schools of Engineering. He was cited by ENR for development of tunneling equipment and methods in 1982. He received the Moles Award for Outstanding Achievement in Construction in 1987 and an Award of Excellence from the National Capital Section of the American Concrete Institute in 1992. In 2004, ASCE selected Charlie to receive the 2004 OPAL (Outstanding Projects and Leaders) Award for lifetime achievement in construction. The OPAL Award was presented posthumously on May 12, 2004.
Charlie was a Registered Professional Engineer in New York, New Jersey, and Alberta, Canada. He was an entrepreneur and a businessman, a competitor and a colleague, a boss and a mentor, a confidant and a friend, and a husband and a father. He will be sadly missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing him.
I went to Fort Belvoir and then Korea with Charlie in 1953. We worked in a designer/contractor relationship in Atlanta and Pittsburgh on rail projects in the 1970s and 1980s and served together on the Purdue Engineering School Visiting Committee from 1995-2000. He was an underground engineer/builder without equal and a top-notch businessman and friend.
-James L. Lammie, 2004
Upon receiving a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Purdue University in 1953, Charlie began his construction career as an officer in the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, attending the Engineers Officers Basic Course at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. After graduation, like the rest of his class, Charlie’s planned assignment was cancelled and he was sent to Korea for 18 months. He earned commendations from the Republic of Korea for his command of a combat construction company on the Yang Po Bridge in Hongchon. After Korea in 1955, he joined Raymond Concrete Pile Company, where he headed up the boring and special drilling division. In 1969, he founded Mergentime Corporation, a heavy construction company that soon became synonymous with quality work and innovative solutions in tunneling, foundation, and underpinning projects, as well as bridge construction. Under Charlie’s leadership, the firm received more than one billion dollars in construction contracts, including significant portions of the subway systems in Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Consumers Nuclear Power Plant in Midland, MI; the District Court Building at Judiciary Square in Washington, D.C.; and Bergen Tunnel in Jersey City, NJ.
Charlie’s dedication to the construction industry was evident by his involvement in a number of organizations, where he often served as an officer or Board member. He was an active member of the Moles, serving as president in 1984, and The Beavers, serving as president in 1992 and as a Trustee to the Beavers Charitable Trust. He was the only person I believe who served as president of both organizations. He was also a member of the Associated General Contractors of New Jersey, the National Research Council’s Transportation Research Board, where he served on the Tunnels and Underground Structures Committee; the Society of American Military Engineers; the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; Transportation Research Board; and the American Public Transportation Association.
During the course of his 50-year career in construction, Charlie received numerous awards and recognition from his peers. In 1980, he was named a Distinguished Engineering Alumnus by Purdue University, which later honored him as an “Old Master” in 1983 and bestowed an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering in 1993. He also served for many years on the Dean’s Visiting Committee for the Purdue’s Schools of Engineering. He was cited by ENR for development of tunneling equipment and methods in 1982. He received the Moles Award for Outstanding Achievement in Construction in 1987 and an Award of Excellence from the National Capital Section of the American Concrete Institute in 1992. In 2004, ASCE selected Charlie to receive the 2004 OPAL (Outstanding Projects and Leaders) Award for lifetime achievement in construction. The OPAL Award was presented posthumously on May 12, 2004.
Charlie was a Registered Professional Engineer in New York, New Jersey, and Alberta, Canada. He was an entrepreneur and a businessman, a competitor and a colleague, a boss and a mentor, a confidant and a friend, and a husband and a father. He will be sadly missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing him.
I went to Fort Belvoir and then Korea with Charlie in 1953. We worked in a designer/contractor relationship in Atlanta and Pittsburgh on rail projects in the 1970s and 1980s and served together on the Purdue Engineering School Visiting Committee from 1995-2000. He was an underground engineer/builder without equal and a top-notch businessman and friend.
-James L. Lammie, 2004
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