Michael Kao started his career in vertical transportation design in 1987 in Mechanical Development Engineering designing hydraulic elevator pit equipment and door operators. He transferred to Service Engineering designing escalator upgrades and then transferred to the field to manage major transit projects throughout the Northeast. He joined Lerch Bates in 2022 and is currently a Senior Consultant of Infrastructure, focusing on application of all Lerch Bates design disciplines to the unique requirements of large public projects for New Design, Modernization, Elevator Maintenance, and Codes and Standards compliance.
Related Experience
Provided field and office project management for the following major clients:
- Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) – Penn Station Reconstruction, Manhattan, NY (07/2023 – 04/2025)
- This project included field surveys of all existing vertical transportation devices throughout Penn Station. Michael provided vertical transportation design and support services for 36 elevators – passenger, service, and freight, hydraulic and traction – and 30 escalators for the 30% design deliverable.
- New Jersey Transit (NJT), NJ, Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (10/2022 – 07/2024)
- State of Good Repair (SOGR) of all elevators throughout the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system.
- Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ) – Newark Liberty Terminal One, Newark, NJ (11/2018 – 12/2021)
- 18 APTA transit escalators, 2 APTA moving walks, 13 APTA hydraulic and traction passenger elevators, 13 APTA hydraulic service elevators.
- MTA – East Side Access, Manhattan, NY (01/2007 – 11/2018)
- East Side Access is the MTA’s largest capital project and the first expansion of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) in more than 100 years. This project provided a direct connection for all 11 LIRR lines to the Grand Central Terminal and Midtown East. The project also included the design and construction of a new 350,000-square-foot terminal to service LIRR, known as Grand Central Madison. On this project, Michael provided vertical transportation support services for the installation of 47 escalators and 22 traction and hydraulic elevators.
- Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) – World Trade Center (WTC) Transportation Hub, Manhattan, NY (01/2007 – 11/2018)
- The WTC Transportation Hub provides access to the PATH train connecting downtown Manhattan to various locations throughout NYC. As a part of this project, Michael provided vertical transportation services for the installation of eight (8) transit escalators and one (1) hydraulic elevator in the 2nd temporary station
- New York City Transit (NYCT) – Escalator Installations at Five (5) Stations, Manhattan, NY (01/2007 – 11/2018)
- Michael provided vertical transportation services for the installation of 27 transit escalators across five (5) stations.
- Maryland Transit Administration (MTA), Baltimore, MD (02/2001 – 12/2006)
- Modernize 81 Otis and O&K escalators.
Registrations & Certifications
Co-Inventor, United States Patent US 6,349,813 Escalator Roller Degradation Monitoring Device
