MERIT AWARDS

Client: Nebraska Department of Transportation

In the early Spring of 2022, RW was approached about surveying the Deer Creek Player’s Club property. The catch was that the purchase date of the property was rapidly approaching, and the survey would need to be completed and delivered in a matter of weeks. With the sheer size of the area in question (over 600 acres), there was only one way to complete the request on time and within the allotted budget. Upon consulting with our client, we came up with a workflow to utilize both our FAA certified drone pilots as well as our licensed land survey team. We threw the book at this one… Our survey team worked to accurately locate the boundaries for hundreds of lots across the entire golf course property. Our drone team worked in tandem with the surveyors to run programmed flights to capture high-resolution aerial photographs of the golf course. By working together, these teams were able to seamlessly combine these two datasets. In the end, we were able to provide our client with super high-resolution PDFs with surveyed boundaries, easements, and every square inch of the site shown in high definition. All on time and in accordance with NSPS/ALTA standards.

CATEGORY E Environmental

MERIT AWARD - CATEGORY WINNER

Firm: Benesch

Project: Niobrara West Bridges Emergency Repair Mitigation Site

In March 2019, Nebraska was hit with blizzard conditions and a “bomb cyclone” dumping rain on the frozen land, resulting in record flooding. These conditions led to significant disruptions to the state’s transportation system. At the peak, over 3,300 miles of Nebraska roads were closed due to blizzard conditions, flooding or damage. Communities were cut off from resources and months later, detour routes still were impacting thousands daily. In floodwaters west of Niobrara, Nebraska, the Highway 12 bridge over the Mormon Canal was completely swept away and the Highway 12 bridge over the Niobrara River was heavily damaged. Benesch, already working on a highway project in Niobrara for the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT), was called upon for emergency response and then to assess and design solutions to offset environmental impacts for the repaired bridges and roadway. The result was the creation of a wetland mitigation site to compensate for multiple types of wetlands impacted and a recreational area providing public river access, education, a multi-use road, and an observation area to view the scenic Niobrara River corridor, which is part of the Missouri National Recreational River. The environmental strategy was developed in cooperation with the National Park Service, Nebraska Game and Parks, US Fish & Wildlife Service, and the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Merit Award

Firm: Lamp Rynearson

Project: 2019 Flood Recovery Project and Planning Study at Offutt AFB, NE.

Client: Kenneth Hahn Architects

In March 2019, Offutt Air Force Base experienced a once-in-a-lifetime flood. A large portion of the base was impacted, and numerous buildings were severely damaged. Ice storms and heavy rains caused the levee located south of the base, at the intersection of the Platte and Missouri rivers, to overflow. As a result, the southeast portion of Offutt was flooded, inundating the runway and all the buildings and structures in this area. Many flood-damaged structures in this portion of the Base will be demolished, and new consolidated structures will be built in their place. As part of a master planning effort for this portion of Offutt, the Sitework/Utility/Transportation Evaluation and Planning Study, 2019 Flood Recovery Project was completed to plan the redevelopment of this area of the Base. The goal of the study was to determine anticipated utility loads and vehicle counts for the newly planned buildings, as well as evaluate the existing site utility and roadway infrastructure for newly planned improvements. Based on this study, work is underway at Offutt, and soon full functionality will be restored to the base, meeting the needs of not only Offutt, but the entire country.

CATEGORY F Water, Waste Water

MERIT AWARD

Firm: HDR

Project: Wastewater Treatment Plant Laboratory, Operations Control Center (OCC), and Administration Building Improvements

Client: City of Grand Island

The City of Grand Island’s Wastewater Treatment Plant Laboratory, Operations Control Center (OCC), and Administration Building was nearly four decades old. Due to the age of the facility and the implementation of new and changing regulations, and advances in equipment and technology, the staff was challenged each day to maintain their high professional standards. The building needed improvements to accommodate additional staff, support current and future laboratory needs, improve the functionality of the existing space, provide a safe working environment, add training space, and upgrade the electrical, mechanical and instrumentation and controls at the facility. The project included renovation of the existing Laboratory, OCC, and Administration Building as well as an addition attached to the south side of the existing building to provide space for a state-of-the-art Laboratory and Operations Center. The addition allowed for the phased renovation of the existing building bringing it up to current construction codes and giving it a much-needed facelift. The new addition added approximately 6,900 square feet bringing the building to over 10,000 square feet.

Category H Transportation

MERIT AWARD

Firm: Benesch

Project: Kearney Regional Airport, Taxiway ‘A’ & Connecting Taxiways Rehabilitation

Client: City of Kearney

Kearney Regional Airport’s parallel Taxiway A was identified for rehabilitation in the airports 2015 FAA Airport Improvement Program (AIP). At more than 20 years old, the existing asphalt pavement (concrete pavement with an asphalt overlay) had reached the end of its service life. The original pavement was constructed in 1942, for

Wastewater Treatment Plant Laboratory, Operations Control Center (OCC), and Administration

Building Improvements

Kearney Regional Airport, Taxiway ‘A’ & Connecting Taxiways Rehabilitation