2010 Engineering Excellence Awards Winners
Thank you to all the entrants of the 2010 Engineering Excellence Awards. While all the entries were outstanding, this year's winners are:
The Clifford Sawyer Achievement Award
For Promoting Communication of Engineering Excellence
Judges are happy to report “Completing a Vital West Valley Link: Design and Construction of Happy Valley Road, 67th Avenue to Lake Pleasant Parkway” graphically illustrates the dynamics of consulting engineering. Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. combined seven representative photos of the largest street improvement project in the history of the City of Peoria with text describing the project advantages to the public. This combination is a winner! The project serves as a symbol of the visionary cooperation between a City and its community committed to smart growth. “Thank You” Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. for this visually exciting portrayal of engineering excellence!
Judges Choice Award
TranSystems
Client: City of Tucson Department of Transportation
Fourth Avenue Underpass
Planning for the Fourth Avenue Underpass was mired in controversy for 25 years and more than 300 public meetings. The challenge was to design a replacement for the 1916 underpass that would not destroy historic structures and neighborhood integrity. The new underpass had to support the Union Pacific Railroad tracks and Downtown Links Parkway, plus provide adequate vertical clearance for streetcars and busses. There were a total of 28 sub-consultants including 3 artists, 5 architects, 3 environmental consultants, 4 streetcar consultants, a traffic noise consultant, a stray electrical current consultant, and more!
Thank You TranSystems for providing this extensive new hub of bus transit, pedestrian and bicycle links and creating new, developable parcels that compliment and integrate public and private redevelopment projects.
2010 Engineering Excellence Award Winning Projects
AMEC Earth & Environmental, Inc.
Evaluation of Ground Deformation and Generation of Large-Area Surface Digital Elevation Models Using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Data
In 2007, AMEC launched an internal research and development program for an interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) product that could provide a differential elevation analysis of changes in large areas over time. This improved InSAR technology can detect very small elevation variations for areas as large as 100 square kilometers. The accuracy was validated by generating a ground deformation map of the Phoenix metropolitan area and comparing it to past data.
Thank You AMEC for this new high-resolution option for evaluating land subsidence, earth fissuring, sinkhole development, and slope movement.
Damon S. Williams Associates, LLC
Client: Department of the Army, Los Angeles District Corps of Engineers
Tres Rios Environmental Restoration Project, Phase II Flow Regulating and Overbank Wetland
The full-scale Tres Rios Constructed Wetlands, commissioned into full operation in May 2010, consists of some 400 acres of engineered basins used to polish the Class B+ effluent from the 91st Avenue Wastewater Treatment Plant. The project improves effluent quality through supplemental nutrient removal and toxicity reduction, provides up to 70 units of habitat restoration, provides passive recreation and public education opportunities, and conveys treated effluent for downstream reclaimed water users.
Thank You Damon S. Williams Associates for the environmental restoration of seven-miles along the Salt and Gila Rivers.
Energy Systems Design, Inc.
Client: City of Peoria Engineering Department
The Root of the Central Plant, Peoria City Hall
Cooling the complex required a cutting edge 4-part solution: 1) New compressor technology incorporating magnetically elevated bearings which allow for true frictionless operation. 2) A nanofiltration system saving 2 million gallons of water per year. 3) New pumping and control system incorporating a variable primary – variable secondary system for pump and chiller energy savings. And, 4) New cooling towers incorporating new fan technology preventing objectionable noise levels.
Thank You Energy Systems Design for this innovative approach which allows the new Courts building to apply for LEED Gold Certification.
Stanley Consultants
Client: Arizona Department of Transportation, Intermodal Transportation Division, Prescott District
Highway Expansion Derails Chino Valley’s “Train of Congestion”
Chino Valley residents and businesses were concerned about the constant stream of traffic on the three-mile single lane section of State Route 89 and wanted a solution. An innovative “inside out” design approach was chosen and allows for future expansion in each direction simply by removing the road’s wide internal median. The roadway features numerous right and left turn lanes, a superior drainage system, and the state’s largest roundabout. The roundabout two-lane configuration is capable of accommodating two semi trucks side-by-side – a first of its kind
in Arizona.
Thank You Stanley Consultants for this impressive project.
Structural Grace, Inc.
Client: Pima County Department of Transportation
Rose Neighborhood Bridge
Turning a University of Arizona College of Architecture student endeavor into a public infrastructure project was a complex challenge. The bridge was designed as a pre-fabricated “kit-of-parts” where many standardized components were assembled, 100% yard fabricated, and then transported to the site and placed with a single pick. The bridge has become the centerpiece of the Rodeo Wash linear park and a hub of activity.
Thank You Structural Grace for this example of balancing function and aesthetics in a hands-on public infrastructure project that brought together the University, County, City and Rose Neighborhood.
URS Corporation
Client: City of Scottsdale, Capital Project Management
Indian Bend Road Improvements – Scottsdale Road to Hayden Road
With input from the community, URS, Hunter Contracting, and artist’s Haddad/Drugan incorporated design elements, including aesthetics, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and preservation of urban wildlife habitat. Working in an active floodplain, the team managed complex utility relocations, regulatory agency approvals, complex hydraulic analysis, and traffic maintenance. The resulting roadway widening, new bridge and drop structure, landscaping, lighting, multi-use pathways, sidewalks, bike lanes, and public art combine to create one of the Valley’s most visually exciting and functional roadway projects. .
Thank you URS!
Wilson Engineers
Client: Town of Chandler
Airport Water Reclamation Facility Expansion to 15 MGD
Chandler has grown from cotton fields to microchip production quickly and is no stranger to developing dynamic, responsive solutions to infrastructure challenges. The Airport Water Reclamation Facility allows Chandler to continue as a model for other communities in implementation of decentralized wastewater treatment facilities. The collection system has been carefully designed with the ability to shift wastewater between treatment facilities. 100% of water reclaimed is utilized as a community resource.
Thank You Wilson Engineers for completing the largest capital improvement project in Chandler’s 98-year history.