Mr. Albert J. Bast III

Albert J. Bast, III, URS Corporation

Urs Corporation Albert Bast

Albert J. Bast III, P.E., M.ASCE, a senior vice president of the URS Corporation working out of the New York City office and the firm's director of surface transportation, agrees that the goal of profiting over the long term can be achieved by spending more initially to produce a facility of high quality.For example, a firm might opt to build a highway with pavement that is thicker, and thus more expensive, than normal, Bast says.
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Pension funds, in particular, constitute an attractive source of investment capital for transportation projects, Bast says."The significance of the pension programs is that the money is relatively cheap," he explains.
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In the future, Bast expects to see more of a "balance" between commercially viable projects that can be funded by private interests and "those that are in the economic self-interest of a state but [are] not necessarily financially viable."For example, a state may decide to construct a highway in an undeveloped corridor as a way to foster development.Such a project cannot be financially viable "because nobody lives there yet," Bast notes.However, after development along the corridor makes the highway economically feasible, the state could lease the highway to a private entity and invest the proceeds in other transportation ventures, he says.

"The complexity of the project will require the best available worldwide tunneling technology," said Al Bast, a vice president of San Francisco-based URS Corp. and a member of the board of control for the East Side Access program manager, which is a joint venture between URS and Bechtel Infrastructure, also of San Francisco.
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"The less risky way was to stay in a deep tunnel," Bast said."There's no risk to Metro-North tunnels or to the high-rises along Park Avenue.
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"Mobilizing the resources of the construction community is important to the success of this project, both in terms of performing the work and championing that this project be done," Bast said.

Albert Bast (URS Corp.), Chairman

Al Bast (URS Corp.), Chairman

Albert Bast (2006 - 2009)
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Albert Bast (URS Corp.), Chairman

New York City Post, SAME, Scholarship Fund, Inc.

Albert Bast has been named senior vice president and director of surface transportation in the New York offices of URS Corp., a design and engineering, firm based in San Francisco.

URS Names Albert Bast Director, Surface TransportationURS - Trade Press Release Details
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URS Names Albert Bast Director, Surface Transportation

NEW YORK, NY - September 27, 2005 - URS Corporation has named Albert Bast, PE, Senior Vice President and Director of Surface Transportation.In this position, Mr. Bast will continue to be based in the New York City office, and will be responsible for expanding the company's domestic and international surface transportation practice, including highways, roads, bridges, and tunnels.He succeeds Wallace Hawkes, who will continue with URS as a special projects consultant and will assist in mobilizing the firm's global resources in the pursuit of major new transportation projects.

Mr. Bast has served as Vice President and Senior Project Manager in the New York City office since 1999 and has been instrumental in the management of some of the region's largest transportation projects.In the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area, he has led the Company's program management team on the $6.3 billion East Side Access Project and the $1 billion Goethals Bridge Modernization Program.In addition to those activities, he has been responsible for developing business opportunities with public agencies in New York and New Jersey.

Prior to joining URS, Mr. Bast was a Vice President with Parsons Brinckerhoff where, over a 17-year period, he had key business development responsibilities and held management positions on major transportation programs in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.Early in his career, Mr. Bast served as an Engineer Officer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and is a graduate of both the U.S. Army War College and the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.

Mr. Bast holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the Virginia Military Institute and a master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley.He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Society of American Military Engineers, the Construction Management Association of America and the Hong Kong Institute of Engineers.