Eight projects have received engineering excellence awards and an additional project received a Diamond Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies New York State chapter (ACEC NY). An awards ceremony was held on April 6 at the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan.
“At the State Department of Transportation, we strive for excellence in every infrastructure project we undertake in our mission to enhance safety for motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists while being environmental stewards and promoting sustainability,” Commissioner McDonald said. “I am proud that so many of our projects have been recognized by the American Council of Engineering Companies and commend NYSDOT’s expert staff who bring projects such as these to fruition.”
This is the 46th annual Engineering Excellence Awards, honoring design achievements of superior skill and ingenuity. Judging for the prestigious Diamond Award is based on a project’s complexity, future value to the engineering profession, original or innovative application of new or existing technologies and meeting or exceeding client needs. Projects selected for Engineering Excellence Awards are judged on a rigorous set of criteria, which includes complexity, innovation and value to society.
NYSDOT’s joint project with the Vermont Agency of Transportation to replace the Lake Champlain Bridge between Crown Point, N.Y., and Chimney Point, Vt., was honored with a Diamond Award. Design for the new $76 million bridge began shortly after the former structure was closed in October 2009. The project required extensive collaboration with environmental, historic and transportation agencies from the federal government and from both states, as well as considerable community outreach and input. In just over two years—November 2011—the new bridge had been designed, built and opened to traffic, restoring a critical link that connected communities on both sides of Lake Champlain with employment, education and healthcare.
Engineering Excellence Awards recognized the following NYSDOT projects:
- Route 42 Emergency Design Build Restoration;
- Goodell Creek Stream Mitigation and Restoration;
- Design and Construction of NYS Route 17 at Parksville;
- Replacement of Roslyn Viaduct (Route 25A) over Hempstead Harbor;
- Route 25 Reconstruction;
- Robert Moses Causeway Rehabilitation of the Northbound Structure;
- Republic Airport Runway 14 Safety Improvements; and
- Design of Gowanus Expressway/I-278 Rehabilitation.
