Mr. Jim Pajk, P.E.
James A. Pajk, P.E.
Franklin County Deputy Engineer, Bridges
Jim Pajk is an example of a Professional Engineer who has concentrated his knowledge and skills in the area of transportation engineering and bridge design to better his community. He has achieved a position of great responsibility in the 17 years since earning his Bachelors Degree from the University of Toledo, College of Engineering. And he continues to contribute to his community and continually increase his expertise in the field.
Since earning his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Toledo in 1990, Jim Pajk has specialized in bridges for most of his career. He became a Licensed Professional Engineer in Ohio in 1995.
Jim worked in the consulting engineering field from 1990-1996 for the consulting firms of Burgess & Niple, Ltd., E.P. Ferris and Associates and R.D. Zande and Associates. During this period worked in bridge design with additional experience in bridge inspection, construction inspection and providing engineering experience for a Central Ohio municipality.
He continued his career by joining the Franklin County Engineer in 1997 as the Assistant Bridge Engineer. In 2001 was appointed by current Franklin County Engineer Dean Ringle to serve as Franklin County Bridge Engineer. Some of his current work duties include bridge design, preparing bridge plans for bid, overseeing consultant and in-house designs, coordinating work for the Franklin County Bridge Maintenance forces and maintaining and evaluating on an annual basis more than 570 county owned structures. He has been involved in creating two very distinctive bridges of the cable stayed design, over Big Darby Creek and over the Olentangy River at Lane Avenue.
Jim has worked on the Ohio Department of Transportation committee to rewrite the Bridge Inspection Manual and has served as a speaker and instructor to local professional sections, student groups and other government agencies on bridge related topics. He has presented papers and given talks at the Ohio Transportation Engineering Conference, ASCE Luncheons, CEAO Spring Bridge Conference, Ohio Bridge Conference and at the PCI National Bridge Conference 2004 in Atlanta, Georgia
Jim is very active in the engineering profession in the Central Ohio area. He served for 5 years on the Board of Direction for the Central Ohio Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers, having served as section president in 2001-2002. Jim is the current President of the Ohio Council of ASCE sections. He also initiated, and still manages, the ASCE golf outing each year in June. The outing serves as a fund raiser for scholarships available to engineering students in the region.
About 10 years ago, Jim started and organized the Central Ohio ASCE Civil Engineering Career Day to introduce area high school students to engineering careers. The program includes a chance to meet professors from OSU and OU Civil Engineering departments, a tour of examples of local engineering achievements, and, of course, lunch. This is part of an obligation all professionals have to assure their replacement by recruiting and educating top students in the region.
For further information on what it is like to be an engineer making Central Ohio a better place to live and work, you may forward questions to Mr. Pajk by using this form.