As the leaves turn and another construction season winds toward its winter pause, we find ourselves looking back on a year defined by momentum, grit, and long-delayed breakthroughs. This fall/winter issue of Road Warriors captures that spirit—of progress earned, challenges navigated, and people whose leadership keeps our industry pushing forward.
Our cover story features someone who embodies all of that and more: Kris Almskog of PW Grosser. Kris has spent a career working as a bridge between regulators, scientists, engineers and construction workers. In our in-depth profile, he talks candidly about his work in the field, environmental responsibility, and what it means to build the future on the shifting sands of Long Island.
Alongside that feature, we bring you two articles on the long-awaited Smith Point Bridge construction project—a project that has tested patience, budgets, and politicians for decades. The first is a Q & A with Alex Prego, chief engineer at Suffolk County DPW. The second comes from Jim Mazzarella, the Suffolk County Legislator whose district is home to this massive project. The Smith Point Bridge has always been more than a crossing—it’s a gateway, a symbol, and in many ways a case study in perseverance.
Also in this issue, Marc Herbst addresses logjams, and how we have worked together as an industry to break them; Rocco Carriero discusses minimizing risk in business and life; the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) introduces Hard Hat Courage, their initiative to address mental illness within the construction industry; and Workers on the Job features Peter Scalamandre & Sons Construction tackling Route 347.
Together, these stories frame a season of progress: industry leaders stepping up, long-promised projects moving off the page and into the field, and a workforce committed to the communities that depend on them. As always, Road Warriors is proud to tell the stories of the innovators, engineers, operators, inspectors, planners, and laborers who make the world move—even as the temperature dips and daylight shortens.
Thank you for reading, for building, and for staying on the road with us.
Here’s to the work ahead.
Jaime Franchi
Editor-in-Chief
Road Warriors Magazine