By Albert Amateau
Pat C. Monte, the Vollmer Associates engineer in charge of the reconstruction of Route 9A along the Hudson River waterfront in Manhattan, and before that the project manager for Battery Park City, died Tues., April 7, at the age of 81.
An associate of Vollmer for 44 years, he retired in June 2006, but continued to work as a consultant for Stantec, the nationwide engineering and planning group that acquired Vollmer in 2007.
On the Battery Park City project, Monte managed all site planning and civil engineering for streets, sidewalks, utilities, parks and open space, including Rector Park and the waterfront esplanade.
On the Route 9A reconstruction he was project manager for the replacement of the West Side Highway, including preliminary design, development of roadway alternatives and the environmental impact statement, or E.I.S., for the final plan, including the bikeway/walkway, landscaping and Hudson River Park.
“Many of us worked with him closely throughout this process for more than a decade,” said Noreen Doyle, vice president of the Hudson River Park Trust, the state/city agency planning and building the 5-mile-long Hudson River Park. “He was a wonderful colleague and a huge supporter of Hudson River Park, and will be greatly missed,” Doyle said.
“Pat was also key to getting the field built on top of Pier 40,” recalled Arthur Schwartz, chairperson of the Community Board 2 Waterfront Committee.
In addition, Monte was project manager on other Vollmer consulting projects, including the Newport Development in Jersey City, N.J., a Merritt Parkway project for the Connecticut Department of Transportation, the 10-block Metro Tech project in Brooklyn and the E.I.S. for the Kosciuszko Bridge replacement over Newtown Creek between Brooklyn and Queens.
Pat Monte earned a bachelor of civil engineering degree from the College of the City of New York, and served in the Korean War in the Army.
His wife, Maryann, secretary of the Hudson River Park Trust, survives, as well as two sons, Carl and Paul; two daughters, Lisa and Anina; and seven grandchildren.
The funeral was at the Edwards-Dowdle Funeral Home, in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., Fri., April 10, with burial in Fern Cliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, N.Y.
