Emil Villanova as the Chief Draftsman at Hardesty & Hanover at the time of his retirement in 2007 at the age of 85. This is a position that he held for many years spanning from the time of hand drafting of bridge plans using ink to the current age of CADD. His tenure at H&H was over 50 years with a break to work for another firm for some time. Emil was born in 1919 and the Rainbow Bridge was completed in 1941. The engineer for the project was Waddell & Hardesty. A predecessor to our firm. Design for the replacement of the collapsed earlier bridge began in 1938 at a rapid pace. I believe that Emil was involved as a young draftsman on the project. Shortridge Hardesty was the lead designer. Emil had a repeat role on the project when the deck was replaced in the 1980's. Emil was a fantastic mentor and expert detailer and designer. The roles on a project such as this blur since so many people are involved. No one person ever should get full credit for a project.