Caltrans Agrees to Buy $2.1 Million of Bentley Products.

EXTON, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 27, 1998--

Transportation Department Increases Use of MicroStation Statewide

Bentley Systems Inc. and Applied GeoDynamics Inc. (Irvine, Calif.) announced Thursday that the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has agreed to purchase additional MicroStation(R) licenses.

The acquisitions totaling $2.1M (US) will bring the number of MicroStation users at Caltrans to approximately 3,000 statewide.

Caltrans will receive software licenses for new staff, licenses for recently upgraded personal computers, and training and support from Applied GeoDynamics (AGDI), an independent value added reseller and a Bentley SELECT(SM) comprehensive support partner for Caltrans.

Caltrans uses MicroStation in the design and preparation of plans for roads, bridges and other transportation infrastructure statewide. Many private firms working on major state projects, including the design consultants for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, also use MicroStation to improve the flow of plans and information among design and engineering teams.

Caltrans officials report that the Bay Bridge project is one of the largest public works jobs in the Bay area since the original construction of the Golden Gate and San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridges in the 1930s.

Dr. Jean-Baptiste Monnier, vice president of geoengineering products at Bentley, commented, "Caltrans is likely the largest geoengineering enterprise in the world. We are extremely gratified that Caltrans, long-time users of MicroStation, will be increasing their use of our software across their organization.

"Bentley continues to strive to provide the enterprise of Caltrans users, sub-contractors and consultants with the best software and services for their large-scale geoengineering projects."

In the fiscal year 1997/1998 Caltrans issued 610 highway construction contracts valued at approximately $1.5 billion.

Private contractors using MicroStation on highway projects report better project coordination and improved communication of engineering data with Caltrans and local transportation agencies.

Charles Lake, director of Western operations for Sverdrup Civil Inc. said, "Sverdrup has used MicroStation to design improvements to a major freeway interchange in Orange County.

"Using MicroStation, we efficiently coordinated and integrated the design effort, including the work of several sub-consultants. We also improved the review process with Caltrans by providing them electronic files.

"Overall, design revisions and corrections can be made more quickly and easily using MicroStation than with conventional methods."

The largest department of transportation in the United States, Caltrans owns and operates the 15,000-mile State Highway System and is responsible for 12,000 bridges and other structures and transportation systems that serve the state.

With headquarters in Sacramento and 12 district offices, the agency has more than 16,000 employees and an annual budget of about $6 billion.

AGDI has provided software, training, consulting and support services to Caltrans since 1994 when the agency made a major purchase of powerful workstations, configured with MicroStation and other applications, to upgrade computing performance and support better integration of software applications and data for transportation projects statewide.

As a prime contractor and service supplier for software integration and hardware configurations, AGDI developed and delivered customized training classes, documentation for in-house programs and other services to support the successful implementation of MicroStation solutions for more than 2,000 end users throughout the State of California.

"Caltrans is a highly competent, proficient user of MicroStation and is forward-looking in its implementation of technology to improve design, engineering and drafting productivity. Their in-house training could be a model for many large organizations seeking to take full advantage of today's software tools," said Steve Baldonado, vice president of applications at AGDI.

For more information on MicroStation, please contact Bentley at 800/BENTLEY, 610/458-5000 (Americas), [phone] (Europe, Middle East, Africa), [phone] (Asia/Pacific), through E-mail at [e-mail],or through http://www.bentley.com.

The Bentley Wire automatically delivers company press releases through E-mail within minutes of being issued. To subscribe, click http://www.bentley.com/news/bwire/.

For more information on Caltrans please, contact AGDI at 888/223-8061, through E-mail at [e-mail], or at http://www.agdi.com.

More on Applied GeoDynamics Inc.

Applied GeoDynamics provides expertise to departments of transportation and other government agencies in the evaluation, installation and use of a range of software applications and hardware configurations.

"Government agencies face the challenges of selecting tools to support a wide range of design, engineering and data management activities and integrating them to improve productivity and increase the value for public dollars spent. Our job is to help them find the right tools, make sure that their staffs are well trained and to help create well integrated, accessible environments for managing the large number of systems and applications public agencies typically employ," said Bruce Kilby, president of AGDI.

AGDI, an independent reseller and applications integrator based in Irvine, California, specializes in helping government agencies, subcontractors and other large organizations employ technology to maximize productivity and integrate the efforts of multiple workgroups to respond to diverse customer requirements.

AGDI provides products, training, consulting and support services to ensure rapid implementation of engineering and geoengineering information technology (IT) solutions that include internet and intranet configurations, data management, computer-aided design and engineering (CAD/CAE), structural and civil engineering, document management, and geographical information systems (GIS).

For more information on AGDI, visit the Web site at http://www.agdi.com.

More on Bentley

Bentley Systems Inc., is a worldwide leader in engineering software and user services. The Bentley Continuum(TM) is the company's comprehensive engineering IT strategy comprising products, services, and strategic affiliations.

The company now serves over a quarter million professionals in building/plant engineering, geoengineering, and mechanical engineering.

With revenues now over $150M annually, Bentley was listed as the largest privately held company on the 1998 Softletter 100 and named to the 1998 Upside Hot 100.

Bentley's MicroStation desktop and ModelServer(TM) Internet/intranet/extranet-based products are used at over 70% of the largest U.S. engineering firms.

They form the software foundation of well-known buildings, roadways, machines, and industrial plants around the world. The Bentley SELECT technology and service subscription program now reaches over 150,000 users.

Bentley Strategic Affiliates, including GEOPAK Transportation, HMR, Jacobus Technology, NetSpace Systems, and WorkPlace System Solutions, provide project services and the world's best and most interoperable engineering applications to Bentley users.

More information about Bentley and Bentley Strategic Affiliates is available at www.bentley.com.

Bentley and MicroStation are registered trademarks; Bentley Continuum and ModelServer are trademarks; and Bentley SELECT is a service mark of Bentley Systems Inc.

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