2003 HONOR AWARDS
HONOR AWARDS are given for those projects which are recognized for exceptional engineering that meet the needs of the client and benefit the public welfare. This year 10 Honor Awards were given in seven categories, as follows:
STUDIES, RESEARCH, CONSULTING ENGINEERING SERVICES
CH2M HILL
Lake County Transportation Improvement Project
Owner: Illinois State Toll Highway Authority and Illinois Department of Transportation - District 1
Subconsultants: T.Y. Lin BASCOR; Huff and Huff, Inc.; Vlecides-Schroeder Associates, Inc.; American Surveying Consultants, P.C.; Everest Engineering Co.; The SGM Group, Inc.; Land Design Collaborative, Inc.; Telford Consulting; Heritage Research, Ltd.; Archaeological Research, Inc.
The Lake County Transportation Improvement Project (LCTIP) is a comprehensive transportation study in Lake County, Illinois. The LCTIP's mission is to identify major travel congestion in Lake County and develop roadway and transit improvements that best address that congestion. Additionally, the LCTIP will determine whether a previously considered extension of Illinois Route 53 should be part of the comprehensive solution.
The LCTIP process used an innovative approach in developing transportation improvements, taking an all-inclusive view of transportation needs, and examining solutions that are broad in both type and geography. Extensive public outreach accompanied the technical work. The LCTIP process determined two finalist build alternatives, which were comparatively evaluated according to both travel benefits and environmental effects.
STUDIES, RESEARCH, CONSULTING ENGINEERING SERVICES
HDR ENGINEERING, INC.
FAP Route 340 (I-355 South Extension) I-55 to I-80 EIS Study
Owner: Illinois Department of Transportation, District 1
Subconsultants: AERO-Metric; American Surveying Consultants, P.C.; Huff & Huff, Inc.; "T" Engineering; The Al Chalabi Group, Ltd.
HDR completed an EIS study on the 1-355 South Extension from 1-55 to 1-80 for the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). The recommended facility, known as the Tollway/Freeway Alternative, will be a 12.5-mile long multi-lane, divided highway. The facility will pass through Cook, DuPage, and Will Counties. The study investigated 6 multi-modal alternatives and the No-Action Alternative.
The proposed highway will improve access between residential areas and regional job centers, achieve land use planning goals and address local system deficiencies by providing a connection between 1-55 and 1-80 to serve as a principal link in a bypass route around the Chicago metropolitan area. Important issues included impacts related to land use, noise, air quality, Section 4(f)/ 6(f) lands, Section 106 properties, and wetland impacts. Special studies were conducted for salt spray effects and habitat for the endangered Hine's emerald dragonfly. The Final Supplemental EIS represented IDOT's first electronically distributed EIS.
BUILDING/TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS
PRIMERA ENGINEERS, LTD
Museum of Science & Industry HVAC System Upgrades
Owner: Museum of Science & Industry
The overall goal of the museum's program is to improve the indoor environment throughout the museum. Under current conditions, the design and construction of each individual exhibit must incorporate provisions for code-required ventilation air and comfort cooling. This is often a very costly and difficult approach, particularly with respect to delivering ventilation air to interior spaces of the museum.
The fundamental concept behind Primera's approach is the separation of ventilation and space cooling equipment. Dedicated outside air (OA) equipment handles ventilation and dehumidification. Comfort cooling is handled by space cooling units located within their respective exhibits. The ventilation air is delivered throughout the museum through a series of new OA ducts. Since this system only delivers code-required outside air, the ducts are significantly smaller than would be required if the system were also handling the space cooling loads.
BUILDING/TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS
TENG & ASSOCIATES, INC.
United Airlines, Ground Equipment Maintenance Building
Owner: United Airlines
Subconsultants: MCA Archicts, PC, OR; Infrastructure Engineering, Inc.; Corrpro Companies, Inc.
The United Airlines Ground Equipment Maintenance (GEM) Facility at O'Hare International Airport is a 158,000 s.f. "state of the art" vehicle maintenance facility. The GEM facility services approximately 1,739 motorized vehicles and over 5600 non-motorized vehicles representing at least 146 different vehicle types. The Facility operates 24/7/365 and requires as many as 135 employees during a single shift. The Facility is divided into three functional areas, an administration center of 20,000 s.f., a specialized shop area of 38,000 s.f. and a high-bay vehicle service area of 100,000 s.f. The administration center included a computerized training room, bus dispatch and de-icing operations center as well as the administrative support and employee amenity areas for the Facility. The specialized shops are a group of ancillary shops that perform repair, re-manufacturing or preventive maintenance on various vehicle components. The high-bay vehicle service area is a section of the Facility were the vehicles are serviced.
STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS
COLLINS ENGINEERS, INC.
HARRY O. HEFTER ASSOCIATES, INC.
Reconstruction of Metra's Lake Street Bridge
Owner: Metra
Subconsultants: Shah Engineering, Inc.; DuSable, Inc.; Upchurch and Associates, Inc.; American Geo-Engineering, Inc.
The Metra Lake Street Bridge project in Hanover Park, Illinois involved the design and construction of one of the largest double track railroad bridges of its kind in the United States. The new bridge incorporates a through girder design with over 14-foot-deep girders in order to provide an unimpeded clear span of more than 136 feet across Lake Street. The considerable increase in roadway opening afforded by the new bridge, which eliminated the existing substructure immediately adjacent to the roadway, made for a significantly safer grade separation at a location prone to accidents due to tight clearances and roadway curvature. In addition to providing greatly improved safety for the motoring public as a final outcome, the project also employed sophisticated applications of temporary structures, runaround tracks, and construction staging to minimize any disruption to normal commuter traffic on both the roadway and rail line.
STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS
KNIGHT INFRASTRUCTURE, INC.
Sheridan Road Bridge Reconstruction
Owner: Illinois Department of Transportation
Sheridan Road runs through a historic district in Lake Forest, Illinois and is carried over a small stream by a bridge. Years of deterioration left the bridge weak and unsafe. Based on its poor condition, a plan was established to remove and replace the existing bridge with a new bridge featuring similar architectural elements while meeting current safety standards.
With input from the Illinois Historic Preservation Society and the City of Lake Forest, Knight designed a new bridge combining modern structural expertise with traditional design elements found in the existing structure. The railing and arched fascia panels were replicated to match those found on the original structure. Ornamental scrolled end pieces from the original structure were refurbished and reset as part of the new structure. This combination of old and new resulted in a bridge that complements the historical significance of the surrounding area while meeting modern safety standards.
ENVIRONMENTAL
BURNS & MCDONNELL ENGINEERING CO., INC.
Innovative Containment Wall Stops Migration of Coal Tar
Bloomington MGP Site
Owner: Nicor Gas
In lieu of very costly, traditional containment remediation techniques, Burns & McDonnell designed and constructed an innovative, subsurface wall at a former manufactured gas plant site. The wall serves to prevent coal tar from migrating offsite.
The wall was constructed using Impermix7, a self-hardening slurry consisting of clay, water and slag cement. The slurry was installed into the ground using the vibrated beam method, a low cost and innovative construction technique that minimizes excavation and the resultant complications associated with large open cut slurry installation methods. To help ensure safe conditions for the surrounding community, an intensive air-monitoring program was established using both automated real time monitoring and 24-hour ambient air sampling.
The completed wall measures 1,600 feet with an average depth of 22 feet and an average thickness of four inches. The containment wall was completed within three weeks, significantly ahead of the eight-week schedule.
WATER AND WASTEWATER
CONSOER TOWNSEND ENVIRODYNE ENGINEERS, INC.
Roseland Pumping Station Conversion from Steam to Electric
Owner: City of Chicago, Department of Water
In 1911, the City of Chicago Department of Water (CDOW) built the steam-powered Roseland Pumping Station (RPS). With a capacity of over 300 million gallons per day, the RPS is the only source of drinking water for 750,000 people on Chicago's south side and southern suburbs. During unusually high peak demands in the summer of 1995, the reliability and operational difficulties of the aging steam systems became evident. CDOW initiated a fast-track program to upgrade the RPS pump drives from steam turbines to electric motors. CDOW selected Consoer Townsend Envirodyne Engineers, Inc. (CTE) in late 1995 to provide design services. Working closely with CDOW staff, CTE streamlined the design period to less than 18 months through regular workshop meetings and onsite evaluations. Construction of this multi-year $43 million upgrade began in June 1998 and was completed in September 2002, with no interruption in the flow of drinking water.
WATER RESOURCES
COLLINS ENGINEERS, INC.
Reconstruction of Sinnissippi Dam
Owner: Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Office of Water Resources
Subconsultants: Cochran & Wilken, Inc.
Because of the age and extent of deterioration of the original Sinnissippi Dam, as determined by Collins Engineers. Inc. during an extensive feasibility study, complete replacement of the steel tainter gate and rubble fill crib dam facility was recommended.
Retained by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources as their design consultant Collins Engineers. Inc. performed hydrographic surveys, alternative studies, constructability analyses, life cycle cost analyses, ice/flow regime impact analyses, gate failure response scenario analyses, optimum design selection, and the preparation of detailed design drawings, specifications, and construction cost estimates for a new structure. Ultimately, the replacement dam consisted of more than 500 feet of pneumatically operated hinged-leaf gates with an additional 500 feet of concrete ogee spillway.
Innovative aspects of the design included: heated, stainless steel pier face plate embedments to assist in gate deicing and promote wintertime gate operation; a system of galvanized steel stoplogs and stainless steel embedded slots to create bulkheads for gate dewatering: a galvanized steel access bridge for crane movements and gate maintenance operations; and a fully automated gate operating system for 24 hour monitoring and proper discharge capacity at the Sinnissippi Dam for all headwater conditions.
TRANSPORTATION
TRANSYSTEMS CORPORATION
BNSF Logistics Park Chicago
Owner: Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway
Client: CenterPoint Properties
Subconsultants: Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd.; ERES Consultants; STS Consultants; Geotech; Utility Engineering
The BNSF Logistics Park Chicago is a $148 million multi-modal rail facility located on the former Joliet Army Ammunition Manufacturing Plant, south of Chicago. The 621-acre yard is the largest in the Midwest and is comprised of an 8,000-foot long intermodal yard capable of 400,000 lifts per year on opening day and an ultimate capacity of 1.2 million lifts at full build-out; a 10-track switching and storage yard; and an automobile facility with an initial projected capacity of 460,000 loads/unloads per year. At full build-out, the facility will be the largest intermodal facility in the nation.
With BNSF Railway as the operator, the multi-modal facility is spurring the development of the adjacent CenterPoint Intermodal Center, an ultra modern, 1,100-acre industrial park that will encompass up to 17 million square feet of buildings when fully completed. A University of Illinois study estimates the entire development will create over 8,700 permanent jobs and 21,000 construction jobs, serving as an economic engine to the surrounding area. The CenterPoint Intermodal Center will serve as a national model for the successful conversion of an abandoned military and brownfield site to a viable, clean state-of-the-art facility.
