This year ACEC-SC received 17 Engineering Excellence entries which were evaluated by a panel of judges and scored. The top project earns the ACEC-SC Palmetto Award and the top six entries were eligible for the ACEC National Engineering Excellence Awards. The judges were Joey Darby, “C” Fund Project Manager, Lexington County Public Works, Robert W. King, Jr., Retired and Mary Katherine Watson, PhD, Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Citadel
Civil Engineering Consulting Services, Inc.(CECS), (Columbia, SC), “Design-Build Federal-Aid Intersection Safety Projects” for the South Carolina Department of Transportation, Columbia, SC, in the Transportation category. CECS also won an Engineering Excellence Award, the Small Firm award and was also a 2014 ACEC Finalist. In an effort to improve the delivery time for safety improvement projects, the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) initiated a Design Build Safety Contract Proposal which included improvements to thirteen intersections in South Carolina, the first ever attempted multi-project design build.
Five other projects are ACEC Finalist and four of the projects won Engineering Excellence Awards and one won a State Finalist award in various categories. The other projects are:
• American Engineering Consultants, Inc. (Columbia, SC), “Membrane Thickening - A Sustainable Solution” for the City of Cayce, Cayce, SC, Water and Storm Water category
• Davis & Floyd, Inc. (Charleston, SC),” Rivers Education Center” for the Charleston County School District, Charleston, SC, Structural Systems category
• Michael Baker, Jr., Inc. & Infrastructure Consulting & Engineering (Columbia, SC), “Johnnie Dodds Boulevard Improvements” for Charleston County, Charleston, SC, Transportation category
• STV (Rock Hill, SC), “I-385 Widening Design-Build” for the South Carolina Department of Transportation, Columbia, SC, Transportation category
• Vaughn & Melton Consulting Engineers, Inc. (Spartanburg, SC), “Surveying and SUE for West End Wastewater Improvements” for the City of Greenville, Greenville, SC, Special Projects category
Other top projects in their categories received Engineering Excellence Awards. The following companies received Engineering Excellence Awards for their projects:
• AECOM (Charleston, SC), “Central Berkeley WWTP” for the Berkeley County Water and Sanitation, Moncks Corner, SC, Water and Storm Water category
• CDM Smith (Greenville, SC), “South Anderson Water Supply (SAWS)” for Anderson Regional Joint Water System, Anderson, SC, Water Resources category
• DWG, Inc. Consulting Engineers (Mount Plesant, SC), “Energy Savings on a Thriving Campus” for Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC, Energy category
• DWG, Inc. Consulting Engineers (Mount Plesant, SC), “When Minutes Matter” for Roper St. Francis Healthcare, Charleston, SC, Small Projects category
• ICA Engineering (Columbia, SC), “Natchez Trail Emergency Slope Stabilization” for the City of West Columbia, West Columbia, SC, Small Projects category
• Thomas & Hutton (Charleston, SC), “Isle of Palms Water and Sewer Commission GIS Framework and System” for the Isle of Palms Water and Sewer Commission, Isle of Palms, SC, Building/Technology Systems category
• URS Corporation (Columbia, SC), “City of Columbia Canal Water Treatment Plant Improvements” for the City of Columbia, Columbia, SC, Water Resources category
• URS Corporation (Columbia, SC), “Regional Water/Sewer Viability Study & Implemention Plan” for the Lowcountry Regional Water System, Hampton, SC, Studies, Research, and Consulting category
• Vaughn & Melton Consulting Engineers, Inc. (Spartanburg, SC), “NCDOT Division R-5522 Hicks Grove Road Relocation” for the North Carolina Department of Transportation, Division 13, Asheville, SC, Transportation category
ACEC-SC also recognizes projects that are indeed examples of engineering excellence, but were up against other projects in their category. This year’s ACEC-SC State Finalist are:
• Davis & Floyd, Inc. (Charleston, SC), “US 17 Septima Clark Parkway Improvements” for the City of Charleston, Charleston, SC, Water and Storm Water category
• HDR Engineering, Inc. of the Carolinas (North Charleston, SC), “US17/Hungryneck Blvd. Interchange Project” for the Town of Mount Pleasant, Mount Pleasant, SC, Transportation category