Ely Villaflores

Ely is a veteran heavy civil estimating and engineering professional with over four decades of experience spanning rail, transit, highways, water/wastewater, and major infrastructure programs. A former Senior Estimating Manager at Kiewit, he led complex hard-bid and alternative-delivery pursuits across the U.S. and Canada, coordinating large estimate teams, managing preconstruction efforts, and shaping winning proposal strategies. Now semi-retired, Ely provides part-time remote estimating support to contractors pursuing heavy civil and transportation work.

Career Journey

Ely began his career in the Philippines as a civil and structural design engineer before moving into field engineering roles with Owl Constructors and Chicago Bridge & Iron, supporting refinery turnarounds, water treatment plants, steel tank construction, and industrial projects.

He joined Kiewit in 1991, where he advanced through project engineering and estimating roles before becoming Senior Estimating Manager. In that capacity, he oversaw full lifecycle estimates, coordinated with owners and JV partners, supervised estimating teams, evaluated pursuit opportunities, and contributed to both preconstruction and field execution support.

From 2018 to 2022, prior to joining Krebs, Ely was an independent consultant, assisting firms with proposals and estimates for rail, LRT, trackwork, underground utilities, grading, and concrete scopes.

Krebs Corporation Representative Projects:

• Austin Transit Partnership (Texas)
• UDOT Frontrunner (Utah)
• WSDOT SR-167 (Washington)

Prior to Krebs Representative Projects:

• Sound Transit Eastlink E-13o (Washington)
• Dulles Corridor Metro Rail (Virginia)
• Honolulu Guideway (Hawaii)