ACEC New York announces engineering award recipients

The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of New York has announced the winners of the 2023 Engineering Excellence Awards. SLR is the proud recipient of the Diamond Award in the category of Water Resource for the design of the Steele Creek Restoration and Flood Mitigation Project for the Village of IIion. In total, 86 projects will be honored at the 56th Annual Engineering Excellence Awards Gala, which will take place at the Hilton Midtown in New York City on March 24, 2023. This event is co-sponsored by the ACEC New York Scholarship (NYS) Fund, and in conjunction with the gala, the scholarship program will award more than $60,000 to NYS engineering students.

SLR initially conducted a study that evaluated chronic flooding along Steele Creek and identified scenarios for reducing flooding. Our team developed detailed engineering design plans for construction of the Steele Creek Restoration and Flood Mitigation Project, applied for and received all required regulatory permits, assisted the Village with bidding of the project, and provided construction administration for the duration of the project, which was completed in March 2021.

Major components of this project encompassed the removal of a dam, removal and disposal of sediments behind the dam to lower the channel bed, and removal of flood-prone roadways. In addition, contractors demolished and removed flood-prone homes along the creek, widened the Steele Creek channel, created a floodplain, replaced a hydraulically undersized bridge and retrofitted a second bridge, installed in-stream habitat features, performed utility relocations, and constructed a sanitary sewer pump station to replace a gravity sewer line that had passed under Steele Creek.

The award-winning team included members of SLR’s transportation, engineering, water resource engineering, surveying, and landscape architect teams and subconsultants: Templeton Landscape Architecture & Planning; Hudson Mohawk Archaeological Consultants, LLC; CME Associates, Inc.; and Lynstaar Engineering, PC.

The Engineering Excellence Awards are presented to projects that encompass both the public and private sector in the following categories: studies, research, and consulting services; building/technology systems; structural systems; surveying and mapping technology; environmental; waste and storm water; water resources; transportation; energy; industrial and manufacturing processes and facilities; and special projects.

Each year, over-50-member firms submit projects that are judged on a rigorous set of criteria, which include complexity, innovation, and value to society. These projects are judged by a panel of industry experts, which includes military and government officials, ACEC National and International leadership, educators from college and university engineering departments, and leadership from other organizations dedicated to the built environment. Awards are distributed based on the average scores received by these judges and are assigned one of four levels (in ascending order): Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond. The top-rated Diamond award that is designed and built entirely within New York State will earn the Empire Award, which will be announced during the gala.

In addition to celebrating among peers, the Engineering Excellence Awards program helps to publicize the many significant contributions consulting engineers make to the built environment throughout the world. A full list of winning projects is available on the ACEC New York website.