Designing innovative, timely, realistic and cost effective infrastructure that serves the needs of our clients and communities.
As a family-owned firm, we achieve project success through interactive design, open communication, and maximum accessibility, ensuring every project is directly managed by our principals from concept to completion.
Our Team
Boles Smyth Associates’ organizational structure
Our Founders
Jack Smyth, Sr., PE, played a pivotal role in advancing Philadelphia’s Vine Street Expressway (I-676) providing a vital link between the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) and the Delaware Expressway (I-95). BSA conducted the transportation planning, preliminary design, and environmental studies needed to secure community support and approvals. Mr. Smyth’s team successfully advanced a scaled-down design of the Interstate link that protected adjacent historic neighborhoods in the densely developed corridor, incorporating extensive and innovative visual mitigation and noise abatement.
Beginning in 1982, Mr. Smyth applied this same community-focused approach to the redesign of the 21-mile Blue Route (I-476). He spearheaded traffic re-evaluations and alternative studies that minimized the highway’s impact on natural resources and residential communities. Serving as the PennDOT’s Design Coordinator for the entire corridor, he oversaw critical environmental protection strategies—including wetlands mitigation and open space preservation—while directly leading the final design of two of the seven sections between West Chester Pike (PA3) and the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76).
Elmore Boles, Jr., PE, the first President of Boles, Smyth Associates, Inc. (BSA), brought over forty years of diversified experience in civil engineering, transportation, and urban design to the firm. Managing project design and development across the northeastern United States, his work focused heavily on urban and economic redevelopment. Notable regional infrastructure projects included the Historic East Market Street Improvements in Philadelphia, the Howard Street Transitway in Baltimore, and the Central Business District Roadway Reconstruction in Stamford, Connecticut.
In addition to his regional work, Mr. Boles left a lasting legacy on Philadelphia’s waterfront and pedestrian infrastructure. Most notably, leading the design teams for the Delaware Expressway I-95 Cover project and the Schuylkill River Bulkhead & Trail project from South Street to the Art Museum. Beyond his project achievements, He was also a dedicated advocate for the engineering profession actively participating in the NSPE and the ASCE, served as Director of Education for the GBCA, and was honored as Transportation Engineer of the Year by the Philadelphia Section of the ASCE in 1989.