The American Council of Engineering Companies of Mississippi announced the 2019 winners of its annual Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) during an evening ceremony at the newly opened Two Mississippi Museums in downtown Jackson.
The ACEC/MS EEA Banquet is held annually to honor member firms for design achievements of superior skill and ingenuity. Mississippi’s engineering consulting firms submit projects that are judged on a rigorous set of criteria, which includes complexity, innovation and value to society. In addition to celebrating among peers, the EEA helps to publicize the many significant contributions local engineers make to society.
Burns Cooley Dennis, Inc. (BCD) took home the Grand Conceptor Award, the most prestigious honor, for the old Highway 80 Mississippi River Bluff Stabilization project. The Vicksburg Bridge Commission of Warren County retained Burns Cooley Dennis Inc. (BCD) as the geotechnical engineers to develop an approach for stabilization of the bluff both at the Old Mississippi River Bridge and at the Navy Circle Overlook. BCD also developed an innovative system to stabilize the bluff using a soil nail wall; the system design was finalized and constructed by design-build contractor Hayward Baker Inc.
The Grand Award was given to Garver for the design on the U.S. 51 bridge over the Coldwater River. Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) officials closed the bridge in March 2016. Evaluations revealed floodwater erosion jeopardized the stability of the bridge’s foundations and repairing the existing bridge was not a viable option due to its low sufficiency rating. MDOT hired Garver to design the replacement for the U.S. 51 bridge over the Coldwater River under an emergency contract with an accelerated design schedule.
Neel-Schaffer, Inc. received this year’s Honor Award for the design and construction inspection work on the Brandon Amphitheater at the Quarry. Brandon Mayor Butch Lee enlisted Neel-Schaffer to design and help oversee construction. The facility is a $22 million project that turned part of an abandoned mining quarry into a state-of-the-art 8,400-person capacity amphitheater. The Brandon Amphitheater at the Quarry opened in April 2018 to rave reviews and has hosted concerts by nationally recognized touring acts.
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