A Chattanooga project is among those being considered in the 2015 Engineering Excellence Awards competition, presented by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Tennessee (ACEC of Tennessee). The award is one of the highest honors a project team can receive and is considered the “Academy Awards of the engineering industry.”
The Volkswagen State Industrial Access Road Wetland Eco-System Restoration exemplifies what can be achieved when engineers work together with private industry, regulatory agencies, and government entities. Engineering firm ARCADIS guided the design of a SIA roadway to serve the Volkswagen automotive plant, while minimizing environmental impacts to and restoring previous Known Exceptional Tennessee Water wetlands. Restoring the wetland and placing all wetland areas under a 75-acre permanent conservation easement drastically lowered the mitigation ratio and helps Volkswagen provide future educational opportunities. As such, this project protects and preserves precious water and natural resources while removing roadblocks to infrastructure important to the economic development of the State of Tennessee.
More than 25 project entries from Nashville, Knoxville, Elizabethton, Shelbyville, Lewisburg, and surrounding areas are also up for consideration. The winners of the 2015 Engineering Excellence Awards will be announced on the evening of Tuesday, March 3, during an awards banquet at the Franklin Marriott Cool Springs, Franklin.
In 2014, the Nashville Music City Center project, completed by Nashville engineering firm Ross Bryan Associates, Inc., won the top prize.