JR Engineering Celebrates 50 Years in Business

JR Engineering, a leading Colorado engineering and surveying firm, celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2023. Five decades of providing innovative solutions to its clients began with the firm’s founding in 1973 by Jim Fraker and Roger Guertner. Working with two other staff members, they focused on providing high-quality, cost-effective services to what even then was a fast-growing Colorado.

Today, JR Engineering’s four locations, in Centennial, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, and Genesee employ more than 85 engineers, designers, surveyors, planners, and administrative personnel. More than a quarter have been with the firm for more than 20 years.

JR is led by Aaron Clutter, president, Kurtis Williams, VP and director of business development, and Ellen Orlowski, director of operations and finance. Aaron and Kurtis have been with JR Engineering 28 years and joined the firm within a month of one another. Daniel Clark, a twelve-year JR employee and group lead for JR’s Land Development Group in the Genesee, Fort Collins, and Colorado Springs locations, recently accepted an invitation to join Aaron and Kurtis as the firm’s fourth and newest principal.

Clutter, on this milestone stated, "We are incredibly proud of our legacy and the opportunities we have had to contribute to Colorado’s growth. Our success reflects our team’s hard work, dedication, and expertise and our commitment to delivering outstanding results to our clients."

Since 1973 JR Engineering has established a reputation for excellence and has played important roles in hundreds of projects for an extensive, diverse client list. From infrastructure to complex engineering projects, the company has consistently worked to provide excellent services. That’s enabled by a professional team and a proven process and vision, which, combined, have grown and adapted to meet evolving client needs.

Here's a small sample of noteworthy private and public projects JR Engineering has completed or that are now in progress, representative of the firm’s areas of focus on civil engineering and planning; construction services; landscape architecture; land surveying; transportation; water resources; and the firm’s multidisciplinary roles that often include projects from planning to finished construction:

  • RidgeGate – Master Planned Community in Lone Tree;

  • Southshore – Master Planned Community in Aurora;

  • Pena Station – Mixed Use Center near Denver International Airport;

  • Crystal Valley Ranch – Master Planned Community in Castle Rock;

  • Solstice – Master Planned Community in Douglas County;

  • Reunion – Metropolitan District civil engineering in Commerce City;

  • BackCountry – Exclusive Estate Enclave in Highlands Ranch;

  • Sterling Ranch – Master Planned Community in Colorado Springs;

  • Harmony Club – landscape architecture for townhomes, residential subdivision, and open space, trails, and recreation areas in Timnath;

  • Mill Street Corridor transportation design – City of Aspen;

  • Cloverleaf design from due diligence through construction – Town of Monument.

Additional significant projects where JR Engineering played multiple roles, overseeing everything from planning to final construction include:

  • Construction Management of drainage and pavement construction – Denver Polo Club;

  • Ruxton Avenue Corridor – Manitou Springs;

  • Centerplace drive and intersection improvements – City of Greeley;

  •  CR 21 and CR 74 intersection improvements – Severance;

  • Swan Meadow Village water line replacement – Dillon.

VP Williams noted, "Looking to the future, we carry our long-established commitment to serve clients to the best of our abilities and collaborate with other firms to bring projects to life. We look forward to providing quality services and supporting clients’ success in the coming years and decades."

Clark added, “As I visit the projects we’re currently working on, I’m proud of the number of quality projects throughout Colorado we have had the opportunity to contribute to."


About JR Engineering: In 1973 Jim Fraker and Roger Guertner, founded a firm specializing in land development consulting services. A friendly coin toss determined the initials of the company to be JR. From a four-person shop in 1973, JR positioned itself as experts in the south Denver metropolitan area, developing lands in Douglas, Arapahoe, and Jefferson counties.

In the late 1980s JR expanded from Denver to Colorado Springs and in 1996 expanded to Fort Collins. Today JR Engineering’s four offices cover the front range of Colorado and Colorado’s mountains and western slope.

JR continues to provide superior civil engineering and land surveying services to a diverse set of clients, small and large, public and private. The firm’s areas of expertise include civil engineering & planning, construction services, landscape architecture, surveying, transportation, and water resources. Visit jrengineering.com or the firm’s LinkedIn page to learn more.