
Engineering Excellence & Legacy Awards
Engineering Excellence Awards
The American Council of Engineering Companies of Arizona Engineering Excellence Awards competition recognizes engineering firms for projects demonstrating exceptional innovation, complexity, achievement, and value. Please join us for an evening of delicious food, fantastic scenery, and award-winning projects.
Important Dates to Remember
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July 15, 2023 – Submission portal opens
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August 31, 2023 – Submission portal closes
Part 1: Official Entry Forms and entry fees due to ACEC Arizona via an online web portal.
Part 2: Completed entries (submitted via an online web portal) and photographic display panels are due to ACEC Arizona as instructed in the Call for Entries. All materials submitted for judging become the property of ACEC Arizona and may be used in publications or other promotional. Submitted materials will NOT be returned. Materials received after August 31st, 2023, will NOT be accepted.
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September 1, 2023-September 14, 2023 – Judging
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September 22, 2023 – Winners Notified
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October 27, 2023 – Please join us at Walter Studios for an evening of celebration!
REQUEST FOR JUDGES
Please fill out the form below if interested.
Give us your best JUDGE-ment! Entries for the 2023 Engineering Excellence Awards will be due Fall of 2023, and we anticipate receiving submissions in various categories. How can you help? We need a pool of competent judges to make the winning selections. Judges may be in-house member firm employees, clients, professors, or retirees, with the only stipulation being that ALL JUDGES MUST BE ENGINEERS. Should a judge discover a personal or professional conflict with a submittal, we ask that they abstain from judging the entry.
Following the 2023 deadline for award submissions, all entries will be reviewed, and volunteer judges with the appropriate expertise will be contacted via email. Judging will occur via a web-based portal (login information will be provided) and will occur after. As a special thanks to those who give their time, judges will receive two complimentary tickets to the 2023 Engineering Excellence Awards Gala.
Ready to be a judge? Please complete the following information and submit it by August 25, 2023.
2022 Award Recipients
2022 Grand Award
AECOM
Arizona Department of Transportation
Fourth Street Bridge over Interstate 40

The Fourth Street Bridge project removed a longstanding traffic bottleneck by reconstructing and providing wider twin bridges over Interstate 40 (I-40) in Flagstaff, Arizona. Initially built in 1968, the bridges remained in a two-lane configuration as adjacent sections of Fourth Street were widened to four and five lanes, creating a traffic bottleneck and congestion during peak travel times. The project also added pedestrian walkways connecting to the Flagstaff Urban Trail System and dedicated bicycle lanes on the bridges to enhance safety, particularly for students traveling to and from elementary and middle schools on either side of I-40.
2022 Grand Award
Burgess & Niple
Maricopa County Department of Transportation
Maricopa County Transportation System Plan 2040

“Providing connections that improve people’s lives” is the core purpose of the Maricopa County Department of Transportation (MCDOT). To accomplish this, MCDOT developed the Transportation System Plan (TSP) 2040 to guide the planning of limited resources for a large geographic area. The TSP 2040 establishes a plan for the future transportation needs of Maricopa County residents across three planning horizons – 2025, 2030, and 2040 – after a thorough review of the MCDOT transportation system, planning documents and processes, stakeholder plans, and funding information.
The TSP 2040 reaffirms the goals, objectives, and strategies from MCDOT’s previous TSP 2035, strengthens them with guiding principles and performance measures for current and future transportation needs and investments, and complements Maricopa County’s Comprehensive Plan guidelines for transportation. The TSP 2040 comprehensively addresses transportation system needs beyond capacity, including active transportation, safety, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), drainage, structures, pavement preservation, and PM-10 (air quality). Identifying these needs and the opportunity for holistic improvements continue to drive MCDOT’s core purpose of improving the system for all users.
2022 Grand Award
Dibble
City of Prescott
Prescott Regional Airport New Terminal

The Prescott Regional Airport (PRC) New Terminal project had quite a few site constraints and complex civil elements, which required unique and innovative thinking from Dibble. This included varying grade differentials, complex phasing, a constrained project site, and creating a new signature entrance to the airport from the redesigned State Route 89. All of these complexities were challenged by the existing terminal, adjacent hangars, and airport administration building, and all airport operations had to remain open and functional throughout this project.
2022 Honor Award
Kimley-Horn & Associates, Inc.
City of Glendale
Glendale Avenue Reconstruction

One of the main goals of this project was to replace the deteriorating asphalt pavement with an appropriate pavement structural section that could support the sustained heavy truck loading this roadway generates, while reducing long-term maintenance issues. During the preliminary design phase, the project team worked together to perform a life-cycle cost analysis of various surface pavement, base course, and subgrade types. This analysis compared the relative pavement strength, upfront construction costs, reoccurring maintenance costs, and design life/replacement costs over 50 years. The types of material and construction techniques analyzed included surface courses of asphalt pavement, traditional Portland Cement Concrete Pavement (PCCP), fiber-reinforced PCCP, and a special proprietary “Opti-Pave” concrete installation technique; base courses including aggregate base, recycled asphalt, and cement-treated base; and subgrade reinforcement such as cement or lime-treated subgrade and geogrid or fiber mesh.
2022 Honor Award
Carollo
City of Avondale
North Avondale Water Supply Project

The City of Avondale (City) continues to be one of the fastest-growing communities in the West Valley. Recognizing the need to plan for additional resources to support this growth and improve the water system’s reliability and redundancy, the City began to explore ideas to supplement the City’s water portfolio. It engaged Carollo to prepare the City’s 2018 Integrated Utility Master Plan (IUMP). As a result of the IUMP, the northern portion of the City was identified to benefit from an additional water supply supporting growth and providing operational flexibility in Zones 1 and 2. The North Avondale Water Supply Project (Project) implements one of the major solutions to bring a new potable water source conceived during these planning efforts.
2022 Honor Award
Carollo
City of Mesa
Val Vista Water Treatment Plant, 2018 Rehabilitation

The Val Vista Water Treatment Plant (VVWTP) Rehabilitation Project 2018 included a comprehensive condition assessment, design, and construction. The condition assessment was used as part of the prioritization process to identify the necessary rehabilitation or upgrades for key assets and treatment processes at the plant. VVWTP is jointly owned by the Cities of Phoenix and Mesa and is operated and maintained by the City of Phoenix. Carollo Engineers performed the assessment, design, and engineering services during construction, and Sundt Construction served as the Construction Manager-at-Risk (CMAR), providing preconstruction and construction services.
2022 Best Small Project Award- under $2.5 Million
Kimley-Horn & Associates, Inc.
Colorado Department of Transportation
Colorado Aviation System Plan

With world-class winter sports and pristine outdoors attracting visitors from around the world to the state, Colorado enjoys a vibrant aviation system serving the state’s thriving economy that includes significant business activities, including aviation and aerospace. The 66 public-use airports in the system operate independently, striving to serve the state’s aviation demand, both from commercial and general aviation users. To evaluate the needs of the statewide system, not just summarize individual airport-identified needs, the Colorado Department of Transportation Division of Aeronautics (Division) has historically undertaken the Colorado Aviation System Plan (CASP) and separate economic impact analysis. Both have been updated utilizing the same baseline and framework established over 20 years ago.
2022 Judges' Choice Award
Gannett Fleming
City of Phoenix
Phoenix Convention Center Shoring Wall

Typically, tiebacks are angled at 20 degrees from horizontal. However, the drill rig boom could not fit into the tight excavation space and still drill into the vertical shoring wall surface at that angle. The site required avoiding the light rail subsurface right-of-way and reaching the higher soil friction material 23 feet below the surface as efficiently as possible. The design team installed the tiebacks at 45 degrees from horizontal to solve these issues. This method allowed the tiebacks the quickest, safest, and most constructible route into the high-friction native sand-gravel-cobble material.
2022 Grand Award
Jacobs
City of Goodyear
Goodyear Water Facility and Pipeline
The project connected the City of Goodyear to its Central Arizona Project (CAP) surface water allocation through the Salt River Project (SRP) canal system. The pipeline and water treatment facility brought Goodyear surface water for the first time, providing the city and surrounding communities with a secure, resilient, and renewable water future.
2022 Grand Award
Gannett Fleming
City of Phoenix
Phoenix Convention Center Shoring Wall

Typically, tiebacks are angled at 20 degrees from horizontal. However, the drill rig boom could not fit into the tight excavation space and still drill into the vertical shoring wall surface at that angle. The site required avoiding the light rail subsurface right-of-way and reaching the higher soil friction material 23 feet below the surface as efficiently as possible. The design team installed the tiebacks at 45 degrees from horizontal to solve these issues. This method allowed the tiebacks the quickest, safest, and most constructible route into the high-friction native sand-gravel-cobble material.
2022 Honor Award
Kimley Horn
Colorado Department of Transportation
Colorado Aviation System Plan

With world-class winter sports and pristine outdoors attracting visitors from around the world to the state, Colorado enjoys a vibrant aviation system serving the state’s thriving economy that includes significant business activities, including aviation and aerospace. The 66 public-use airports in the system operate independently, striving to serve the state’s aviation demand, both from commercial and general aviation users. To evaluate the needs of the statewide system, not just summarize individual airport-identified needs, the Colorado Department of Transportation Division of Aeronautics (Division) has historically undertaken the Colorado Aviation System Plan (CASP) and separate economic impact analysis. Both have been updated utilizing the same baseline and framework established over 20 years ago.
2022 Honor Award
Dibble
City of Mesa
Mesa Drive: 8th Avenue to Main Street

The Mesa Drive project was much more than a roadway project. It included every major element of a public works project, from utility pipelines to structures to electrical distribution conversion to traffic signals and intelligent transportation systems (ITS). This multi-discipline nature required a diverse team of 8 sub-consultants during design and 35 trades to construct. It improved the undeveloped section between the two legacy projects described previously.
2022 Honor Award
Black & Veatch
City of Glendale, City of Peoria
Pyramid Peak WTP Expansion & Improvements

The project added a new water treatment train- the plant’s fourth to expand treatment capacity by 15 million gallons per day (MGD). A critical project criterium was to keep a passive flow, split to the existing three trains and the new one. This was a challenge because of the fourth train’s location relative to the headworks. Also, the design needed to account for future treatment expansion.
2022 Clifford C. Sawyer Achievement Award
AECOM
Arizona Department of Transportation
Fourth Street Bridge over Interstate 40

The Fourth Street Bridge project removed a longstanding traffic bottleneck by reconstructing and providing wider twin bridges over Interstate 40 (I-40) in Flagstaff, Arizona. Initially built in 1968, the bridges remained in a two-lane configuration as adjacent sections of Fourth Street were widened to four and five lanes, creating a traffic bottleneck and congestion during peak travel times. The project also added pedestrian walkways connecting to the Flagstaff Urban Trail System and dedicated bicycle lanes on the bridges to enhance safety, particularly for students traveling to and from elementary and middle schools on either side of I-40.
2022 Best Large Project Award-over $2.5 Million
Gannett Fleming
City of Phoenix
Phoenix Convention Center Shoring Wall

Typically, tiebacks are angled at 20 degrees from horizontal. However, the drill rig boom could not fit into the tight excavation space and still drill into the vertical shoring wall surface at that angle. The site required avoiding the light rail subsurface right-of-way and reaching the higher soil friction material 23 feet below the surface as efficiently as possible. The design team installed the tiebacks at 45 degrees from horizontal to solve these issues. This method allowed the tiebacks the quickest, safest, and most constructible route into the high-friction native sand-gravel-cobble material.
2022 People's Choice Award
Dibble
City of Prescott
Prescott Regional Airport New Terminal

The Prescott Regional Airport (PRC) New Terminal project had quite a few site constraints and complex civil elements, which required unique and innovative thinking from Dibble. This included varying grade differentials, complex phasing, a constrained project site, and creating a new signature entrance to the airport from the redesigned State Route 89. All of these complexities were challenged by the existing terminal, adjacent hangars, and airport administration building, and all airport operations had to remain open and functional throughout this project.
13th Annual Arizona Transportation Legacy Awards
Legacy Awards Committee seeks your nomination(s) for an individual to receive the 13th Annual Arizona Transportation Legacy Award.
The criteria for submitting individual nominees for this prestigious award are as follows:
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The Nominee must have made a significant, noteworthy contribution to any mode of transportation in Arizona. Significant contributions include (but are not limited to) planning, design, technical development, construction, management, education, and/or multi-modal transportation.
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The Nominee may come from government, private practice, construction, education, or industry.
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The Nominee may be living or deceased and may be working or retired.
Questions? Please email the Legacy Awards Committee co-chairs Kelly Kaysonepheth at kkaysonepheth@aztec.us or Karla Petty at karla.petty@dot.gov
Deadline: August 31st, 2023
All selected honorees will be invited as guests of honor to formally accept their award at the October 2023 ACEC Arizona Engineering Excellence Awards and Legacy Awards Celebration. The honorees will also receive a complimentary registration to the November 1-3 Roads & Streets Conference in Tucson.
June 1, 2023 - August 31, 2023
August 16, 2023 - August 31, 2023
September 15, 2023
October 27, 2023
Portal to submit nominations is open
Committee review period, will review as submissions are received
Notification of selection(s)
Please join us for an evening of celebration at Walter Studios
Winning Year | Name |
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2022 | Antonio “Tony” Paez |
2022 | Amanda McGennis |
2020/2021 | Teresa Welborn |
2020/2021 | Greg Stanley |
2020/2021 | Tom Buick |
2019 | Hon. Edward Lopez Pastor |
2019 | Dr. Richard Nassi |
2019 | Jeff Swan |
2019 | Dennis Smith |
2018 | Priscilla Cornelio |
2018 | Kent Dibble |
2018 | Bill Hayden |
2018 | Roger Herzog |
2018 | Tom McGovern |
2018 | James (Jim) Pyne |
2018 | Janice Burnett |
2017 | Dave Crawford |
2017 | James Glock |
2017 | Jane Morris |
2017 | Michael Sabatini |
2017 | John Bernal |
2016 | Ed Green |
2016 | Ralph Hoffman |
2016 | Charles H. Huckelberry |
2016 | John Louis |
2016 | Victor Mendez |
2016 | Martin Shultz |
2016 | James B. Girand |
2015 | Shellie Ginn |
2015 | Geza Kmetty |
2015 | Daniel (Dan) S. Lance |
2015 | John Eugene McGee |
2015 | Robert (Bob) Mickelson |
2015 | Curt Slagell |
2015 | Peter L. Eno |
2014 | E. LeRoy Brady |
2014 | John E. Carlson, Sr. |
2014 | David K. French |
2014 | Dr. Larry Hansen |
2014 | Dean Lindsey |
2014 | Richard “Rick” J. Simonetta |
2014 | Elizabeth “Liba” Wheat |
2014 | Timothy “Tim” M. Ahrens |
2013 | Kenneth “Ken” H. Davis |
2013 | Ginger Murdough |
2013 | Alan “Wayne” Collins |
2012 | Harold Ashton, Sr. |
2012 | Nathan “Nate” Banks |
2012 | Jerry Cannon |
2012 | Hurvie E. Davis |
2012 | Robert C. Esterbrooks |
2012 | Kim Lilly-Moody |
2012 | R. Dale Martin |
2012 | John Nelson |
2012 | Mary Peters |
2012 | James R. Redpath |
2012 | Thomas L. Swanson |
2012 | William “Bill Alfier |
2011 | John J. “Jack” DeBolske |
2011 | Katie Dusenberry |
2011 | Ed Hall |
2011 | Dr. Rudolf Jimenez |
2011 | Oscar T. Lyon, Jr. |
2011 | Jim McDonald |
2011 | William Ordway |
2011 | John Ritoch |
2011 | Robert Vaughan |
2011 | James Attebery |