Engineering Projects Honored for Skill and Ingenuity Engineering Association Presents the 2015 Engineering Excellence Awards

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1 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 23, 2015 For additional information or high resolution photos, contact: Kelly Veit, communications director or Engineering Projects Honored for Skill and Ingenuity Engineering Association Presents the 2015 Engineering Excellence Awards MADISON, WI - In celebration of National Engineers Week (February 22-28, 2015), the American Council of Engineering Companies of Wisconsin (ACEC WI) announced the winners of the 2015 Engineering Excellence Awards competition. BEST OF STATE AWARD WINNERS Additional information and photographs are available for each project. 30th Street Industrial Greenway Corridor Solution Entering Firm: CDM Smith Inc. Client Name: Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District Project Location: Milwaukee, WI Entry Category: Studies, Research & Consulting On July 22, 2010, the Milwaukee metropolitan area experienced a major storm event that resulted in widespread flood-related damages. One area hard hit by flood damages was the 30th Street Industrial Corridor. The area was also experiencing a continuous decline in economic conditions. Faced with these challenging conditions, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District and CDM Smith created an integrated transportation, stormwater and economic development vision to reduce surface flooding, combined sewer overflows and basement backups through a Greenway Corridor Solution that would also serve as a catalyst for economic revitalization. Partnering with the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, the District and CDM Smith undertook an integrated planning approach structured around a proposed drainage and green space area defined within the existing urban development to create a Greenway Corridor Solution. Several planning studies were conducted to develop conceptual solutions to address flooding, and at the same time estimate the benefits and contribution to improved economic conditions in the area. The solution offers triple bottom-line benefits not only for those living immediately adjacent to the corridor but also for residents of the entire area, including: Social Benefits: reduced basement backups; 1,290 short-term and 70 long-term jobs; 8.5 miles of porous pavement bike path; playfields, game courts, and walk/bike path trails.

2 Economic Benefits: reduced foreclosed property maintenance resulting in $1.5 million in annual savings; a potential two- to threefold increase in property values; flood damage savings of $130 million over 20 years. Environmental Benefits: reduced combined sewer overflows by 20 to 90 million gallons; and the addition of 65 acres of green space throughout the corridor. The Greenway Corridor Solution applies a unique engineering approach to provide the required infrastructure to address the stormwater and basement backup problems. It also serves as a catalyst to address a number of other critical human and social challenges in the corridor. Beneficial Use of Waupaca Foundry By-Products Entering Firm: TRC Companies Inc. Client Name: Waupaca Foundry Inc. Project Location: Waupaca, WI Entry Category: Environmental Waupaca Foundry Inc. owns and operates a nonhazardous waste disposal facility that receives foundry sand by-products from WFI s three foundries located in the city of Waupaca. WFI wanted to determine if they could beneficially re-use the foundry sand by-products for construction of the low permeability barrier layer for the Waupaca disposal facility. To test the long-term performance of the by-products, TRC and WFI built a test site with two liner systems one using the traditional three-foot thick compacted clay soil and one with a three-foot compacted foundry by-product layer. Over the course of a 2.5-year period, the liners were exposed to three Wisconsin winters. At the end of the monitoring period, the test pads were carefully exhumed for visual observation and laboratory testing. Both the select foundry by-product and clay liner appeared intact; no visible signs of deterioration, cracking or preferential flow paths were observed in the select foundry by-product barrier layer. The test pad evaluation showed that the select foundry by-product material met Wisconsin regulatory agency liner design standards and retained the desired engineering properties over the observation period. TRC submitted a plan modification to the landfill permit proposing an alternative liner system for the remaining 13 acres of their landfill, using a four-foot thick compacted select foundry by-product layer with an overlain geomembrane layer. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources approved the plan modification. This project makes a significant contribution to WFI s commitment to sustainability. It eliminates impacts to the environment by replacing the use of native clay soils with foundry by-product with what was formerly a waste product. WFI will extend the life of the landfill, reduce landfill construction costs, reduce environmental impacts including air pollution and traffic, improve the sustainability of their operations and avoid the costs associated with permitting, purchasing and restoring a soil borrow area to provide clay used in liner systems. Innovative Remediation and Brownfield Redevelopment Entering Firm: AECOM Technical Services Inc. Client Name: Phillips-Medisize Corporation Project Location: Fredonia, WI Entry Category: Environmental The Phillips Plastics Corp. site occupies approximately five acres within the Village of Fredonia Industrial Park. Phillips Plastics purchased the property in 1985 and later discovered

3 environmental concerns associated with the original owner s use of the site. Subsequent subsurface investigations identified the presence of chlorinated solvents, specifically trichloroethylene (TCE), in the soil and groundwater beneath the site. To address concerns surrounding the contaminated site, AECOM s team applied an innovative soil bending/mixing technology that provided many technical and economic benefits for the soil remediation. The soil treatment remedy treated approximately 14,000 cubic yards of impacted soil by mixing/blending it with an alkaline activated sodium persulfate mixture. The technology allowed the chemical reagents to be thoroughly mixed into the finegrained clay soil that contained the majority of the TCE mass. This innovative blending approach resulted in maximizing the contact between the chemical reagents and the contaminated soil pores, thereby increasing treatment efficiency and effectiveness. The equipment allowed the volume and dosing concentration of chemical reagents to be controlled at the point of blending based on the distribution/location of the TCE. This allowed the amount of reagent to be optimized during the remediation and prevented the need for retreatment or using excessive reagent volumes. As a result, the efficiency of the treatment was effectively controlled and adjusted to site conditions and contaminant mass and was performed in a cost-effective manner. AECOM s experience with innovative remedial technologies allowed for the successful implementation of this remediation program and improved the regulatory acceptance of this useful technology for other remediation sites. The project resulted in minimized waste generation and, most importantly, allows for future development of an underutilized property. Leo Frigo Bridge Emergency Repairs Entering Firm: Michael Baker Jr. Inc. Project Location: Green Bay, WI Entry Category: Structural Systems In the early morning hours of Sept. 25, 2013, Pier 22 of the I-43 Leo Frigo Bridge in Green Bay settled approximately two feet resulting in sagging of the bridge deck across all four lanes. WisDOT was faced with developing a safe and practical solution to reopen the bridge as quickly as possible, under great public scrutiny. The Baker team, in cooperation with WisDOT, conducted a round-the-clock investigation and analysis that revealed a unique combination of industrial fly ash fill, fluctuating groundwater, high levels of sulfates and chlorides and microbial activity as the source of deterioration in the steel piles supporting the foundation that had settled. WisDOT and the Baker team then developed creative solutions to jack the bridge back into its original position and retrofit five pier foundations, resulting in the return of the bridge to service far sooner than anticipated. The solutions involved foundation retrofit designs that employed post-tensioning to clamp new concrete footing extensions to the existing concrete foundations. The new footing sections were supported by drilled shafts, which have now effectively removed all loads from the suspect piles beneath the settled foundation.

4 The comprehensiveness of Baker s investigation has contributed significantly to the engineering community s understanding of the risks associated with bridges founded in similar subsurface conditions. Key deliverables were turned around in days instead of months. The timely delivery and constructible repair concept allowed the bridge repairs to be completed within the first 180 days covered by 100 percent federal emergency funding. The I-43 Leo Frigo Bridge returned to service well ahead of schedule and under budget. The tremendous cooperative effort of WisDOT, the Baker design team and the contractors elevated the public s trust in and appreciation for the engineering community s ability to serve the public under challenging circumstances. UW Milwaukee Innovation Campus Infrastructure Entering Firm: GRAEF Client Name: City of Wauwatosa Owner Name: UWM Real Estate Foundation Project Location: Wauwatosa, WI Entry Category: Special Projects UWM Innovation Campus is a 58-acre university research park on the Milwaukee County grounds in the city of Wauwatosa and funded by the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM Real Estate Foundation. GRAEF worked closely with the city to provide design for the $9 million infrastructure to serve the new campus. Services included surveying, mass grading, roadways, utilities, landscape, lighting and stormwater management. The city and other stakeholders shared a goal of zero-discharge runoff from the developed portions of the site. A highlight of the campus infrastructure is the stormwater system featuring 22 bio-filtration basins to promote infiltration and limit surface runoff from the developed site. The bio-filtration basins infiltrate, evapotranspirate or discharge via underdrain, all runoff from developed areas up to a 100-year storm event. The project required that all plans were designed with great sensitivity to the environment, specifically the monarch butterfly habitat; and to the historic nature of the site. Another project challenge that was successfully met involved coordination. There were many utility providers, local activist groups and government agencies whose opinions and requirements needed to be accommodated. These desires were varied and had to be respectfully considered along with time schedules and traffic maintenance needs for WisDOT s Zoo Interchange construction project. Thoughtful coordination with Milwaukee County Parks and DPW addressed grading and trail impacts, created new parks facilities on the adjacent land, and addressed abandonment of county sewer, water and other infrastructure through the site to be replaced by city of Wauwatosa utilities. A unique retaining wall system was created to establish a signature element for the campus and preserve developable land. The project s walls are a functional and attractive use of gabion baskets particularly with the stacked Lannon stone and stainless steel band.

5 The UWM Innovation Campus will become a central gathering point for innovative businesses and minds in Southeastern Wisconsin. It is only fitting that the infrastructure on which the area is built was equally innovative. STATE FINALIST AWARD WINNERS Additional information and photographs are available for each project. A Design for the Perfect Storm Entering Firm: AECOM Technical Services Inc. Client Name: Milwaukee County Project Location: Oak Creek, WI Entry Category: Water & Stormwater Carroll University Student Living and Business Center Entering Firm: Ayres Associates Client Name: Berg Management Company Project Location: Waukesha, WI Entry Category: Environmental Coleman School District LED Outdoor Lighting Entering Firm: Clark Dietz Inc. Client Name: Coleman School District Project Location: Coleman, WI Entry Category: Energy Farm Trace Bypass Storm Sewer and Detention Basin Entering Firm: Clark Dietz Inc. Client Name: Village of Richton Park Project Location: Richton Park, IL Entry Category: Water & Stormwater Historic State Office Building Envelope Repairs Entering Firm: Bloom Companies LLC Client Name: State of Wisconsin Division of Facilities Project Location: Madison, WI Entry Category: Special Projects Mahoning Creek Hydroelectric Project Entering Firm: Mead & Hunt Client Name: Enduring Hydro, LLC Owner Name: USACE - Pittsburgh District Project Location: New Bethlehem, PA Entry Category: Energy Phillips Boulevard (US 12) Entering Firm: Strand Associates Project Location: Sauk City, WI Entry Category: Transportation

6 Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements Entering Firm: Baxter & Woodman Inc. Client Name: Village of Paddock Lake Project Location: Paddock Lake, WI Entry Category: Water & Stormwater WIS 29 Safety and Environmental Improvements Entering Firm: Mead & Hunt Project Location: Wausau & Marathon County, WI Entry Category: Transportation SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION ON A PROJECT BY A SMALL FIRM AWARD Additional information and photographs are available for each project. WIS 73 Reconstruction I-39/90 North Segment Entering Firm: JT Engineering Inc. Project Location: Dane County, WI Entry Category: Significant Contribution on a Project by a Small Firm ABOUT THE ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE AWARDS Established in 1970, Engineering Excellence Awards program recognizes and celebrates engineering achievements that demonstrate the highest degree of skill and ingenuity. This statewide competition effectively ensures firms achieve the recognition they so richly deserve. Through exceptional engineering design, these award-winning projects contribute to the quality of life of Wisconsin citizens. A panel of highly qualified judges used the following criteria to evaluate each submission: Original or innovative application of new or existing techniques Future value to the engineering profession and perception by the public Social, economic and sustainable design considerations Complexity Exceeding client/owner needs The following awards were given: Best of State Award is presented to entries representing the highest degree of technical innovation, client satisfaction and contributions to the engineering profession. State Finalist Award is presented to entries demonstrating a high degree of client satisfaction through quality, cost-effective solutions. Significant Contribution on a Project by a Small Firm Award is presented to entries from small firms celebrating their successful major contribution to projects. ACEC WI will announce the selection of the state-wide 2015 Engineering Excellence Grand Award on Friday, March 20, Information on all the 2015 Engineering Excellence Award-winners is available at

7 ABOUT ACEC WI American Council of Engineering Companies of Wisconsin members are designing and protecting Wisconsin s future with professional engineering solutions. It is the only organization in the state that represents the business side of the professional engineering industry. ACEC WI represents 79 premier engineering firms with more than 160 offices across Wisconsin and affiliate members that provide support to the industry. Founded in 1958, ACEC WI supports member firms that employ nearly 3,600 engineers, architects, planners, geologists, soil scientists, hydrologists, surveyors and other professionals. For more information, visit ###