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Two ITD projects receive ACEC national awards

And the awards for best engineering and construction projects and their supporting casts go to …

Two Idaho projects will join the “red carpet” recognition next month when the American Council of Engineering Consultants presents its annual project awards in Washington, D.C.

The ceremony will mirror that of this week’s Academy Awards, complete with a black-tie/tuxedo and formal gown ceremony, April 23, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.

The 2013 Engineering Excellence Awards Gala is considered the “Academy Awards” of the engineering industry. Last year’s event showcased 147 ACEC member projects from the U.S. and throughout the world. Judges from across the nation, representing a variety of built environmental disciplines select the top projects for 16 “honor” awards and eight “Grand Awards.”

Two ITD projects will be receive National Recognition Awards, “a prestigious distinction honoring projects that do not earn an honor or grand award, but nonetheless demonstrate exceptional achievement in engineering,” according to ACEC.

ITD will be recognized for development of a unique public involvement process, designed in consort with the Langdon Group, and for completion of the complex Sand Creek Byway project in Sandpoint. URS served as the design and construction consultant for the project

Last year, ITD and Horrocks Engineers were honored in the ACEC competition for the Interstate 84, New York Canal Modeling and Mitigation project. ITD and H.W. Lochner also received a National REcognition award last year for the I-84, Ten Mile Road Interchange . The Lapwai Valley Regional Wastewater Project, completed by Progressive Engineering Group, received a National Recognition Award in 2012.

Sand Creek Byway
The Sand Creek Byway is one of the oldest, most complex and most costly highway projects in Idaho history. Discussion of creating an alternate route around downtown Sandpoint began more than a half-century ago.
The 2.1-mile project was completed in June 2012 after three construction seasons and an unprecedented amount of public outreach and participation.

The Boise URS office led the design engineering effort for project, which is on Idaho’s only major north/south highway in the 100-mile corridor between western Montana and eastern Washington. U.S. 95 also is the only highway that connects northern and southern Idaho and serves as the major Idaho connection between the United States and Canada.

The old highway alignment entered Sandpoint and merged with U.S. 2 on a one-way grid system through the central business district. More than 18 percent of the highway traffic is heavy trucks, and congestion and delays were common throughout downtown Sandpoint, causing safety issues for motorists and pedestrian.

The byway connects the cities of Sandpoint and Ponderay as an alternate route for U.S. 95 to reduce traffic through downtown Sandpoint. It has been a topic of local interest for more than 50 years and several alternatives have been discussed in the community. ITD faced a number of challenges based on the expectations of the community and involved regulatory agencies. To address these challenges, the URS-led design team engaged the public and agencies early and often in the process.

The ACEC award adds to a growing list of honors for the bypass. Others include:

2003 — AASHTO Excel Award for Outstanding Achievement in Public Involvement - Sand Creek Byway
2005 — ITD's Excellence in Transportation Award for Public Involvement - Sand Creek Byway
2009 — No. 1 Idaho Project in the Idaho Business Review's Top Projects Award - Sand Creek Byway
2012 — WTS Innovative Transportation Solutions Award - Sand Creek Byway
2012 — ARTBA PRIDE award in Community Relations, for the public outreach in the Sand Creek Byway project
2013 — ACEC Engineering Excellence Award - Sand Creek Byway

Project Outreach Planner (POP)
ITD launched its innovative and unique Public Outreach Planner (POP), designed to help guide public involvement decisions and outreach efforts, in October 2012. The POP is an online, interactive tool that helps employees determine when or if to begin the formal public involvement process and which options to choose.

The POP concept focuses on a progression of multiple-choice questions that produces a numeric score of 1 through 5. The score correlates to a recommended level of public outreach for a project. The POP offers project-specific public involvement guidance, complete with tools and techniques for the recommended strategies.

Development of the POP began in 2011 when SonnaLynn Fernandez, ITD Transportation Planning Coordinator, and Adam Rush, ITD Public Involvement Coordinator, started working with district staff and the Langdon Group to develop a tool that is unique to Idaho and ITD.

The POP began to take shape after November 2011 workshops with district planners, Office of Communications staff and Langdon’s Bryant Kuechle and Darla Christiansen.

The Project Leadership Team visited ITD’s six districts early in 2012 to discuss public involvement and test a draft version of the POP with staff statewide. The project team gathered valuable input and spent the months that followed refining the tool and creating a customized POP website that is tailored to Idaho’s needs.