RPA Opens Anaconda Office

RPA is excited to announce the recent opening of its newest office in Anaconda, Montana. This expansion supports the firm’s continued growth and reinforces its commitment to serving public and private sector clients throughout southwest Montana.

Located at 113 East Third Street, the new office enhances RPA’s ability to deliver high-quality engineering solutions in areas such as water & wastewater, airports, transportation, structural design, site development, survey, and construction management.

The new office is under the leadership of Mike Johnson, PE, a highly experienced civil engineer, who has nearly 25 years of expertise in managing complex infrastructure projects. A native of Anacona, he brings established relationships and deep local insight to the role.

“It’s exciting to have an office in the heart of the community that shaped me” said Johnson “and I look forward to helping clients achieve their goals.” 

RPA Honored By PSMJ Resources, Inc.

PSMJ Resources, Inc. announced the members of the 2025 AEC Circle of Excellence: The AEC Industry’s Best Managed Firms™. RPA is honored to be one of sixty-five exceptional architecture and engineering firms to make it onto the exclusive list this year! This is the 11th time since 2011 that RPA has been selected to the Circle of Excellence.

PSMJ designed the AEC Circle of Excellence Award to recognize firms that demonstrate outstanding achievements in areas such as profitability, overhead management, efficiency, business development, growth, and turnover. The 2025 AEC Circle of Excellence: The AEC Industry’s Best Managed Firms™ list represents the top 20 percent of participants in PSMJ’s most recent A/E Financial Performance Benchmark Survey, based on 9 key performance metrics.

While some may chase vanity metrics like rapid growth or sheer size, the firms on our Best Managed list have mastered what truly matters—the fundamentals that separate sustainable high performance from short-sighted or superficial growth,” says PSMJ President Gregory Hart. “These award-winning firms don’t just excel; they redefine excellence in financial and operational management. They’ve cracked the code to extraordinary performance, moving with purpose while others hesitate, executing with precision while others stumble, and daring to innovate while others cling to convention.”

RPA is a 100 percent employee-owned civil engineering, planning, and land surveying firm. With over 70 employees, RPA is headquartered in Helena, Montana with offices in Kalispell, Bozeman and Anaconda, Montana.

Kerry Lynch Becomes Montana’s First RSP2B Certified Professional

Kerry Lynch Becomes Montana’s First RSP2B Certified Professional

At Robert Peccia & Associates (RPA), safety isn’t just a priority, it’s the foundation of how we approach every project. Kerry Lynch has long exemplified this safety-first mindset, ensuring that critical safety considerations are integrated from the earliest stages of project development. Her RSP1 certification, earned in 2021, has already helped us deliver thoughtful, evidence-based solutions tailored to the unique needs of the communities and clients we serve.

 

Now, Kerry has taken her commitment to the next level by earning the Road Safety Professional Level 2 – Behavioral Specialty (RSP2B) certification, making her the first in Montana to achieve this advanced designation.

 

Awarded by the Transportation Professional Certification Board (TPCB), the RSP2B credential recognizes professionals with deep knowledge in behavioral safety strategies, including those that influence driver behavior, improve public awareness, and ultimately help prevent crashes and save lives. This certification builds on the foundation of RSP1 and focuses on key areas such as:

 

  • Human factors and driver behavior
  • Safety education and outreach
  • Enforcement strategies
  • Policy development and evaluation

Why This Matters in Montana

Montana’s transportation network is one of the most expansive in the nation, with many miles of rural roads and some of the country’s highest roadway fatality rates. Because the network is so large, infrastructure improvements alone aren’t enough to fully address safety challenges—improving safety culture is essential.

 

Kerry’s RSP2B certification gives us the expertise to address these challenges by working not only with our clients, but also with safety partners such as law enforcement, emergency medical services, and educators. By fostering collaboration, focusing on the human factors behind crashes, and supporting a stronger safety culture across the state, we can pair infrastructure investments with education, outreach, and enforcement strategies to reduce crashes and save lives.

 

What This Means for Our Clients
Kerry’s RSP2B certification strengthens our ability to develop holistic safety solutions that balance engineering, education, and enforcement strategies. It allows us to:

 

  • Promote more effective and targeted safety programs
  • Collaborate with communities to foster meaningful engagement and awareness
  • Deliver measurable improvements in traffic safety outcomes

This achievement reflects Kerry’s dedication to advancing transportation safety and RPA’s ongoing commitment to shaping safer transportation systems. We’re proud to have her on our team—and even prouder of the impact she continues to make across Montana and beyond.

 

Congratulations, Kerry! Your dedication and leadership are helping to create safer roads and more resilient communities.

RPA Celebrates International Women in Engineering Day

In honor of International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), we’ve highlighted some of the amazing women here at RPA.

“My mom is an engineer, and seeing her approach challenges with ingenuity and confidence really inspired me. She taught me that engineering goes beyond problem-solving; it’s a way to make a difference. That’s what motivated me to become an engineer too.”

“As an engineering project manager, I joke that I’m a social engineer — with all the communication and coordination it takes to keep projects moving. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“One of the things I love most about working in transportation is how relatable it is. Everyone deals with traffic, road safety, or just getting from point A to B—so I can talk to anyone about what I do. It connects me to my community in a really meaningful way.”

“I hope to make an impact by designing infrastructure that not only meets technical and safety standards but also enhances the everyday lives of the people who use it. Innovative engineering can be both highly functional and aesthetically thoughtful—creating spaces that are efficient, resilient, and inspire a sense of connection.”

RPA Welcomes Three Interns

CHRIS NELSON

I attend Montana Tech University, I will be a senior this next school year, and I am studying Civil Engineering.

I am most interested in water/wastewater engineering, and that is the RPA team I am with this summer.

I am excited to explore how the RPA team designs water/wastewater facilities and hopefully see some of the construction phases of the projects.

ANDER STREULI

I just graduated this Spring with a BS in Civil Engineering from Montana State University, and this Fall I will go back to MSU for a master’s degree in Structural Engineering.

I am most interested in Structural Engineering.

I am excited to get exposure and experience with structural design this summer!

jacob spangenberg

I study civil engineering at Montana Tech and I am going into my junior year.

I am not looking into any specific areas of civil engineering although I enjoy water/wastewater and site development.

I am excited to explore all that RPA offers.

 

RPAgives – Mount Helena Trail Improvements

We love supporting our employees’ efforts to give back to the community through our RPAgives and RPAvolunteers programs. RPA engineer Shane Forsythe recently volunteered with the Helena Climber’s Coalition to improve the trail to the Sunset Slab climbing area on Mount Helena. This work was done with the assistance of the City of Helena Open Lands and Trails department. Over three days, nearly 20 volunteers completed trail rehabilitation and the installation of a section of cable stairs.

RPA Honored By PSMJ Resources, Inc.

PSMJ Resources, Inc. has announced the winners of the 2024 Premier Award for Client Satisfaction, which honors architecture and engineering firms that deliver a truly exceptional client experience. This award is the only designation in the industry that highlights firms’ commitment to client experience. The award calculation looks at key metrics for client satisfaction that are highly correlated with sustained growth and success as an organization.

Being responsive to the needs of our clients and ensuring their satisfaction is always a priority at RPA. We are thrilled to be recognized for these efforts by PSMJ Resources, Inc. as a 2024 A/E/C Premier Award For Client Satisfaction -winning firm and are so proud of our team for being one of the best in the industry!

RPA is a 100 percent employee-owned civil engineering, transportation, planning, and land surveying firm. With over 70 employees, RPA is headquartered in Helena with offices in Bozeman and Kalispell.

Helena Food Share – Kid Packs

A team of RPA volunteers put together over 1,100 Kid Packs for the Helena Food Share this week. These Kid Packs are distributed to students in our Helena area community on a weekly basis. Each Kid Pack contains a variety of kid-friendly foods that provides a source of nutrition over the weekend during the school year.

 
 

RPA Site Design

RPA’s Site Development team assisted the owner with a pre-design site assessment, while our Survey team completed a boundary line adjustment to kick this project off.  Once completed, RPA’s Structural and Site Development teams partnered with CWG Architecture and Dick Anderson Construction to bring Prickly Pear Pediatric Dentistry’s brand-new facility to life!

Prickly Pear Pediatric Dentistry Office

RPA’s involvement on the project included:

  • Boundary Line Adjustment 
  • Site, Utility, and Topographic Survey 
  • MDT System’s Impact and Permitting 
  • City of Helena Coordination 
  • Site Layout 
  • Site Grading 
  • Access and Parking Lot Layout and Design 
  • Exterior ADA Compliance 
  • Stormwater Design 
  • Utility Services
  • Conventional Wood Light-Framed Structure Using Parallel Chord Manufactured Wood Trusses
  • Partial Basement and Crawlspace Foundation

International Women in Engineering Day

In honor of International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), we’ve highlighted some of the amazing women here at RPA.

KERRY LYNCH, PE, RSP1 When I was in college I got a job counting cars for a research project at the Western Transportation Institute. With the guidance and support of one of my mentors, this simple job quickly blossomed into an interest in, and eventual passion for, traffic and transportation. I love working in the transportation industry because it’s so relatable and ingrained in our daily lives. Everyone who walks, bikes, drives, or takes the bus knows something about transportation! As I’ve progressed in my career I’ve evolved from the engineering side of things to the planning side, becoming what we in the industry lovingly call a “plan-gineer”. I love working with communities to think about the transportation system 5, 10, and even 20 years down the road and being able to put a plan in place to help achieve a shared vision. These days, I’ve really enjoyed working on projects in the realm of sustainable transportation, safety for all users, and planning for all transportation modes.

HANNAH SCHWEIKERT  Hey, I’m Hannah! I’m a Junior at Carroll College, playing volleyball and studying Civil Engineering. Go Saints! I became interested in civil engineering because of the real-world application. Being able to face a challenge and see your solution come to life is a goal I strive to achieve. I was so excited to intern at RPA to explore different fields of civil engineering and get the chance to learn from some of the best! One project I’m helping work on is the Kootenai National Forest campgrounds. I grew up in Northwest Montana and love the outdoors so redesigning the campgrounds I grew up going to is pretty special, and I’m excited to see them come together.

ELIZABETH BARTON, EI  My favorite part about a career Civil Engineering is that each day is different, no two projects are the same, and I anticipate a lifelong career of learning. I originally chose to study engineering at college because mathematics was my favorite subject in school. My high school math teacher, Ms. Bleken, was a driving force behind the reason I pursued Civil Engineering. Women in engineering continued to inspire me at college, where I was taught by multiple female professors who had walked my footsteps years before. Dr. Plymesser, my academic advisor and Open Channel Hydraulics professor, and Dr. Matteson, my Structures professor and ASCE group advisor, were two women in particular that I really looked up to. Once I started taking upper-level courses at college, I found my niche in transportation and hydrology/hydraulics. Luckily, my position at RPA in the Highways group incorporates both those interests. With only a year of professional experience, I am excited to further explore my interests and watch the population of women in engineering continue to grow.

APRIL GERTH, PE  I’m not sure I really chose to be a Transporation Engineer, I feel like it chose me. Jobs were scarce when I graduated and I felt grateful that Montana Department of Transportation offered me a position designing roadways. 30 years later, I have had the opportunity to collaborate on a wide variety of projects, from living snow fence to interstate interchanges with multiple roundabouts. Auto crashes can have devastating impacts on families and communities, and I hope I have contributed in making Montana a safer place for residents and visitors.

SARAH NICOLAI, PE, PTP  I really enjoy the opportunity to make a positive difference through transportation projects. After collecting data and conducting technical project reviews, one of my favorite aspects of my work is meeting with people in person to understand their concerns and hear their perspectives. For me, public and stakeholder meetings really reinforce the human impact and importance of engineering.

“International Women in Engineering Day began in the UK in 2014 as a national campaign from the Women’s Engineering Society. Since then, INWED has grown enormously, receiving UNESCO patronage in 2016 and going truly global the following year.”

“In 2017, National Women in Engineering Day became international for the first time due to the interest and enthusiasm developed by the international audience and participants in the previous years. International Women in Engineering Day was born to enable the celebration of women in engineering to become global.”

To learn more check out this link! https://www.wes.org.uk/