Two Chattanooga-area projects are among those being considered in the 2018 Engineering Excellence Awards competition.
The award is one of the highest honors an engineering firm can receive and is considered the “Academy Awards of the engineering industry’’ and are presented by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Tennessee.
In 2017, The TDOT Diverging Diamond Interchange at SR-66: Exit 407 project, completed by engineering firm Gresham, Smith and Partners, won the top prize.
Chattanooga’s competitors for the 2018 award are the Big Dip and Ooltewah-Ringgold Road at Standifer Gap Road roundabout.
The Big Dig, a project completed by S&ME, Inc. and Civic Engineering for the city of Chattanooga, provides the storm drainage backbone for a 1,100-acre area.
The project protects the historic St. Elmo District, large parts of Alton Park and South Chattanooga from a 100-year flood event. The new infrastructure has been designed with expansion in mind to pave the way for future development of the area in conjunction with the planned extension of the Chattanooga Riverwalk.
The roundabout, completed for Hamilton County Engineering by ARCADIS, created a safer intersection with input from the community using the roadway.
In an area that had experienced 45 crashes, the roundabout has reduced speeds and fits with the aesthetics of the East Brainerd community. To date, no fatal or incapacitating crashes have been reported since the project’s completion.
Project entries from across the state are up for consideration. The winners of the 2018 Engineering Excellence Awards will be announced during an awards gala at the Omni Hotel in Nashville on the evening of October 26, where ACEC Tennessee will also celebrate its 50th Anniversary.
Additional information about the awards can be found at www.acectn.org.
About ACEC Tennessee: Founded in 1968, ACEC Tennessee is a statewide organization that represents more than 100 Tennessee engineering firms. ACEC Tennessee has chapters in Nashville, East Tennessee, Southeast Tennessee, and Memphis. The organization works to advance the business environment of the engineering industry.