Family-Owned Heavy Civil Construction Company Built on Integrity

Ryan Forrestel represents the fourth generation of family leadership at Cold Spring Construction and has served as President since 2016. Since joining the company full-time in 2003, he has advanced through a range of field and leadership positions, including laborer, foreman, project engineer, and project superintendent, gaining broad experience across all phases of heavy civil construction.

Ryan has led Cold Spring’s continued investment in construction technology and innovation, helping position the company at the forefront of emerging industry practices. He has served as Chairman of the New York State Associated General Contractors Highway Division and participated on a Federal Highway Administration working group focused on 3D modeling and construction technologies. He is a licensed professional engineer and holds degrees from Brown University and Pennsylvania State University.

Jeff Borden is part of the fourth generation of family leadership at Cold Spring Construction and has served as Vice President since 2018. His connection to the company began at age 12, working in the shop and yard during summer breaks before progressing into field operations and engineering roles. He joined Cold Spring full-time as a Project Engineer in 2008.

Over the course of his career, Jeff has developed extensive expertise in heavy civil construction operations, with particular experience in concrete paving technologies including stringless paving, dowel bar insertion systems, and inertial and real-time profiling. His hands-on experience as both an engineer and project superintendent has provided broad operational knowledge across all phases of infrastructure construction. Jeff earned his degree in Environmental Resource and Forest Engineering from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

Richard Forrestel represents the third generation of family leadership at Cold Spring, where he has served as Treasurer of Cold Spring Construction since 1987. His career with the company began during his college years, working as a laborer from 1975 through 1982 before gaining outside financial experience with Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co. and returning to Cold Spring in 1984.

Richard has held several national leadership roles, including Chairman of the Financial Issues Committee of Associated General Contractors of America. He also served on advisory committees for the Financial Accounting Standards Board, contributing to the development of major accounting standards, including revenue recognition and leasing guidance. Richard holds a B.A. in Biology from Princeton University, an MBA from University of Michigan, and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Joseph Suk began his career with Cold Spring Construction as an Engineering Intern in 2018, gaining experience in both the engineering and finance functions while completing his education. After joining the company full-time, he spent two years working in the field as a Project Engineer before transitioning into financial leadership. He was named Controller in 2022.

As Controller, Joseph oversees the company’s financial controls, accounting policies, and internal procedures. His background in both construction engineering and financial management provides valuable insight into project performance, cost controls, and financial operations. In 2023, he led the implementation of the company’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, helping modernize financial and operational processes across the organization.

Joseph serves on the Board of Directors for the Buffalo/Niagara Chapter of the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA). He earned both his B.S. in Civil Engineering and MBA from the University at Buffalo and holds the Certified Construction Industry Financial Professional (CCIFP) designation.

Brett Bottone began his career with Cold Spring Construction at age 18, working as a junior engineer during summer breaks while attending college. Since joining full-time after graduation, he has held a wide range of roles including labor foreman, carpenter foreman, engineer, estimator, superintendent, and project manager.

Brett brings extensive field and leadership experience across complex heavy civil projects, including interstate interchange reconstruction, expressway rehabilitation, canal locks, site development, and bridge construction and rehabilitation. Since the introduction of design-build procurement in New York, he has led qualification and proposal efforts for all of Cold Spring’s design-build projects. Brett was named Vice President of Engineering in 2020 and holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Clarkson University.

Buzz Karas joined Cold Spring Construction in 2023, bringing extensive experience in large-scale heavy civil construction and complex infrastructure projects throughout the United States.

Buzz began his career with Kiewit Corporation in 2008 as a Field Engineer and spent nearly a decade working on major infrastructure projects in Chicago, New York City, Boston, and Norfolk. During that time, he served in roles including Office Engineer, Field Engineer, and Superintendent, contributing to projects involving commuter rail systems, bridge replacements, immersed commuter tunnels, deep cofferdam support systems, utility relocations, dewatering operations, and large-scale excavation work.

After relocating to Western New York in 2016, Buzz continued building regional heavy civil experience before joining Cold Spring as an Estimator and Project Manager. His broad field and operational background allows him to provide project teams with innovative approaches and practical solutions for challenging infrastructure projects. Buzz earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Michigan Technological University.

Forrest Mager joined Cold Spring Construction in 2013 as a Project Engineer and has advanced through progressively responsible leadership roles, becoming a Project Superintendent in 2015.

Forrest brings extensive experience in bridge, roadway, and heavy civil infrastructure construction, with project work performed for agencies and organizations including the New York State Thruway Authority, New York State Department of Transportation, United States Army Corps of Engineers, and CSX Transportation. His background includes bridge rehabilitation and replacement, highway reconstruction, and major infrastructure improvement projects.

As both a Project Manager and Superintendent, Forrest oversees all phases of project operations, from planning and scheduling through field execution and completion, helping ensure projects are delivered safely, efficiently, and to the highest quality standards. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in New York and earned his Civil Engineering degree from University at Buffalo.

Mark Mol serves as Safety Director at Cold Spring Construction Company. He joined the company full-time in 2022 after serving as a safety consultant to hundreds of construction and general industry clients for the previous seven years, including Cold Spring as a client. With this extensive background, Mark brought a broad, practical, and hands-on perspective to the role.

Since joining Cold Spring, Mark has significantly strengthened the company’s safety culture and performance. Under his leadership, Cold Spring has reached historically low incident rates and EMR scores, helping keep teams safe while delivering major projects.

He leads all aspects of corporate safety strategy, compliance, training, and risk management. His proactive, people-first approach continues to support Cold Spring Construction’s successful delivery of complex heavy civil projects, including interstate interchange reconstruction, expressway rehabilitation, bridge construction and rehabilitation, and site development. Mark holds a B.S. in Biology and Chemistry and was recognized with the National Safety Council Rising Star of Safety Award in 2025.

Ashley Wegner has been a full-time member of Cold Spring Construction since 2017 and has held several key roles within the organization. In her current role as HR Director, Ashley oversees all aspects of the company’s people operations, helping ensure Cold Spring attracts, develops, and retains the skilled workforce needed to support its long-term mission and growth. She manages employee relations, benefits administration, regulatory compliance, and workforce development initiatives, including apprenticeship and training programs.

Ashley works closely with company leadership and field teams to foster a safe, productive, and respectful work environment while strengthening internal processes that support both employees and the continued success of the organization. She earned her B.A. in Communication from Buffalo State University.