Project Engineer Margaret “Maggie” Gallagher is an early-career construction management professional who works out of Hill International’s office in Philadelphia, PA. Because she started working at Hill immediately after graduating from college, Maggie’s story helps showcase the opportunities available for junior professionals and recent college graduates at the company. That includes opportunities to learn and grow on teams with Hill’s industry-leading project and construction management professionals, as well as opportunities to solve complex challenges and add value on impactful infrastructure projects around the world.

Kicking Off a Construction Career

Maggie joined Hill in 2022 after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. She learned about the company from one of her professors, who oversaw her senior capstone project—the design of a new highway exit ramp to improve an existing intersection in Pittsburgh—and was familiar with Hill’s work in Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania. Maggie originally applied for an opening in Hill’s Pittsburgh office. In addition to acing the interview, Maggie had a great transcript and recommendations and valuable co-op experience. So, when she asked if there were any openings closer to her family on the other side of the state in the Philadelphia area, Hill found a position for her there as well.

“I was looking around for a job towards the end of school, and Hill seemed to be a great fit,” says Maggie. Specifically, she mentions the alignment between Hill’s portfolio and her interest in transportation infrastructure. During her studies, Maggie developed an interest in traffic systems, and joining Hill seemed like a way to learn more about transportation infrastructure and the construction industry. “Since Hill does a lot of transportation work in Pennsylvania, I thought it would be an opportunity to get close to the industry I wanted to work in right at the start of my career,” she goes on.

Indeed, during her four years with Hill, Maggie kicked off her construction career by working with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) on multiple highway construction projects along I-95 in Philadelphia. She has been responsible for a variety of construction management tasks, including document control, design review, quality assurance/quality control, coordination, and cost and schedule management. Her support has helped PennDOT deliver construction projects that improve the safety and performance of one of the busiest interstate highways in the country.

A Different Kind of Engineering

Today, Maggie works with Hill Project Director Frank Bonito on one of our most high-profile projects in the country, PennDOT’s I-95 Central Access Philadelphia (CAP) project. The $329 million CAP project involves the construction of a new bridge structure connecting Front Street to the Delaware River waterfront over I-95 and Columbus Boulevard. On top of the bridge, PennDOT will build a new 11.5-acre public park with a variety of amenities. The CAP project will also deliver a new pedestrian bridge over Columbus Boulevard, providing direct access to the Delaware River Trail from the existing South Street bridge over I-95. In addition to creating a new public park, the project will reconnect Center City to the Delaware River, providing easy access to waterfront attractions for pedestrians and cyclists.

Maggie’s responsibilities on the CAP project include coordinating with the client, contractor, designer, utilities, and other stakeholders; engaging with field staff to address construction concerns; reviewing and delegating project documents through PennDOT’s Engineering and Construction Management System and the PennDOT Project Collaboration Center; and confirming quality, schedule, and budget performance.

“This is the largest and most publicized project I’ve worked on to date,” says Maggie. “It involves public space and caters to multiple types of transportation, which aligns with my professional interests. It’s also exciting to be able to witness my first project that I’ll have helped manage from beginning to end.”

Maggie adds that collaborating with her colleagues and PennDOT to overcome the project’s unique technical challenges has been another satisfying part of the job. However, she says that while her academic background in civil engineering and her professional experience on other PennDOT highway projects have prepared her well for addressing many of the project’s challenges, a few, including stakeholder management, have proved particularly difficult.

“It’s related to the scale of the project,” Maggie explains. “There are so many stakeholders whose interests the project touches upon—all the residents and businesses in the area, drivers on I-95 and Columbus Boulevard, pedestrians and bicyclists on Columbus Boulevard, utility companies, the nonprofit that stewards the waterfront. And all of those stakeholders have different expectations for construction and the overall project.”

Maggie has worked with Frank and the rest of the Hill team to manage those expectations by meeting directly with stakeholders, soliciting feedback, answering questions, giving presentations, managing communication channels, and more. When faced with major concerns, Maggie helps coordinate solutions with the rest of the project team.

For example, at the start of the project, plans to temporarily relocate the Irish and Scottish Memorials from the former bridge structure—now demolished—to Foglietta Plaza worried community stakeholders. Maggie and the Hill team coordinated with those stakeholders to address their concerns about moving the memorial statues by discussing the rationale for the relocation and planned move methodology, as well as confirm alignment between the community’s long-term expectations and PennDOT’s vision for the statues’ position in the new park.

“I enjoy solving technical problems in construction management, but so much direct interfacing with so many people isn’t exactly what I expected coming into the field,” says Maggie. “While it’s been a challenge at times, I appreciate that I’m learning a lot about a different, and crucially important, side of the work. Plus, I’ve had a great support system in the rest of the Hill team.”

Tomorrow’s Construction Leaders

With her hard work and construction management skill set, Maggie contributes directly to Hill’s ability to manage the CAP project effectively for PennDOT. Plus, by committing to continuous learning and taking on new challenges, she is developing the experience and expertise required to become a construction leader.

“The construction industry needs more talented young people like Maggie,” adds her manager, Frank Bonito. He notes that, in addition to their familiarity with the latest tools and technologies and the myriad ways they support projects as individual professionals, young people bring valuable new perspectives to the industry and reshape perceptions about what a construction career can look like, making the field more attractive for other young people. That contributes to the long-term health of the construction industry by helping address its ongoing talent shortage. It also creates a pipeline of future industry leaders prepared to manage the next generation of infrastructure development.

“I’m proud of the work I do at Hill for PennDOT and look forward to witnessing the completion of the project with the rest of the project team, and seeing all of the people enjoying the new park on a daily basis,” concludes Maggie. “I hope to continue taking on responsibility at Hill and getting my professional engineering license. Long term, I look forward to continuing to work in transportation, helping to make our public spaces and infrastructure more efficient and safer for everyone.”

Thank you, Maggie, for all that you do!

For 50 years, Hill International’s junior professionals have helped clients deliver the infrastructure of change around the world. As we set out on our next 50 years of growth, we need talented early-career professionals like Maggie to bring their enthusiasm, competency with the latest tools and technologies, and new perspectives to our team. Learn more about a career with Hill here: www.hillintl.com/careers.