2008 ACEC OKLAHOMA

ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE AWARDS

The Benham Companies Received Oklahoma’s Highest Engineering Honor

for the City of Ardmore Co-Composting Facility

The Benham Companies was awarded the state’s highest engineering design honor, “The Grand Conceptor” award for their design of City of Ardmore’s Co-Composting Facility.  The award is given annually by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Oklahoma (ACEC OKLAHOMA), the state trade association for professional engineering, architectural/engineering, and land surveying firms.

 

Additionally, four “Honor Awards” were presented: 

 

 

Two firms were recognized as “Finalist” for the 2008 competition:

 

 

The Benham Companies was engaged to develop sludge handling alternatives and design the required improvements.

 

As part of the expansion and process conversion of the City of Ardmore’s sewage treatment plant, the City wanted to develop and build a more efficient, environmentally sound method of handling their sewage sludge, which amounts to at least 30,000 gallons of stabilized liquid sludge each day.  The increasing cost of transportation and overtime requirement had made efficient sludge disposal operations impossible for the City.

 

As part of the treatment plant upgrade, the City decided to modify its sludge processing train to include co-composting of sludge and yard waste as it principal sludge handling process.  After due consideration of process feasibility, capital costs and operational costs, the City directed Benham to proceed with the engineering of a co-composting system.

 

The Ardmore system sludge is de-watered using a standard 2-meter belt press.  The dewatered sludge is conveyed to the mixing floor where it is mixed with yard wasted collected as part of the City’s ongoing “Operation Pride” residential yard waste collection program.

 

After agitation and mixing of compostable charges, the dewatered sludge and yard waste, normally about 25 cubic yards or 14,000 pounds, is placed in the front end of one of five composting bays in which temperatures routinely reach 175 degrees.  In order to produce a Class A bio-solid, the compost charge must be heated to at least 113 degrees for 10 consecutive days and during that time the charge must achieve or exceed 131 degrees for three full consecutive days.  Temperatures are monitored throughout the process and the Ardmore System engages blowers to inject air into the bed to aerate, cool, activate, and sustain the process.

 

At the end of 21 days, the material is withdrawn and stockpiled on the outdoor curing pad for at least 14 days.  Since completion, the facility has produced over 15,000 cubic yards of co-compost that is used by the community and local wholesalers.

 

The resulting material is now distributed under the trademark “Okie Dirt” and is used as a soil nutrient; as a soil erosion reduction agent, and/or as landscaping material.

 

The Ardmore System is the first of its kind in the central United States.  In fact, the closest similar system is in Goldsboro, NC.

 

With the assistance of The Benham Companies, a small municipality has invested a significant but not otherwise uneconomical amount of their resources to the development of a recycling facility that now produces a product that enhances the environment and that has potential for even greater revenue production.

 

 

Wallace Engineering designed the structural systems for the National Weather Center, a new six-story, $69 million facility, that is a unique partnership between the University of Oklahoma and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  The federal/state/university project brings together the best of the nation’s weather research, forecasting, and educational agencies and has created technology responsible for saving thousands of lives.  

 

The interior of the NWC is a myriad of classrooms, laboratories, control rooms and computer centers.  The structural system needed to minimize vibrations, and provide support for miles of data and cabling systems, while maintaining a consistent depth to avoid conflicts.  It also had to accommodate multiple balconies and setback, feather a large curving atrium topped with a large circular skylight, and frame two four-story curved exterior screen walls.  A cast-in-place post-tensioned concrete skip joist system was selected to meet this variety of needs.  The system provided the economy of repetition in the majority of the floor plate, while allowing elegantly curved floor edges at openings.

 

OU and NOAA wanted also wanted to be able to continue to view storms from their laboratories in the even that a severe storm was targeting the building.  Selected labs in the building were designed to resist wind loads of 150 mph and were hardened against wind-borne missile impact, resulting in areas that are adequate to resist and F2 tornado.

 

The geometry of the NWC provided numerous design challenges.  The building consists of two rectilinear wings joined by a circular form at the elbow anchored by a large, curving atrium.  Two four-story screen walls highlight the exterior form, and this juxtaposition of linear and curved forms provided a challenge in maintaining a relatively constant depth of the structure and integrating the post-tension forces needed to support the design loads.

 

 

URS Corporation was selected by the City as the prime consultant and project manager for the “Core to Shore Plan.”  URS worked with a 33-member Steering Committee representing community leaders representing a variety of perspectives.

 

The south edge of downtown Oklahoma City is bounded by a failing viaduct, I-40, that for 50+ years has isolated the downtown and contributed to the deterioration of this aging industrial/residential area.

 

When the Oklahoma Department of Transportation decided it was time to replace the viaduct with a partially depressed highway one-half mile to the south, the City of Oklahoma City saw an opportunity to create a new gateway to the downtown and add vitality to the areas between downtown and the Oklahoma River.

 

URS faced the challenge of developing a plan to replace 750 acres of largely underutilized land and aging industrial operations with productive, energizing, and attractive land uses which would have huge economic consequences.

 

The Core-to-Shore Plan will transform the district from an underutilized and economically under-performing area, into a powerful venue for economic and community growth.

 

The Core-to-Shore Plan satisfies every goal, major and minor, established by the Steering Committee, including:

        *  A design for a downtown boulevard that will be a signature entry into downtown and a stimulus for redevelopment,

        *  Locates Future Civic amenities such as a new convention center, museums and other cultural institutions,

        *  Calls for an assemblage of parks and open space the will connect downtown to the Oklahoma River waterfront, including a large central park that will be a gathering  space for cultural events,

        *  Provides redevelopment which will fuel the City’s economic growth and create new opportunities for the City’s citizens, and,

        *  Establishes a strong pedestrian environment to encourage walking and bicycling.

 

Brawley Engineering (Mehlberger-Brawley) was originally awarded a contract in 1995 by the City of Oklahoma City to remove the existing Walnut Street Bridge in the Bricktown district and reconstruct Walnut Avenue as an at-grade corridor.  The bridge was built in 1909, rebuilt in the 1930’s, and by the 1990’s was nearing the end of it’s life cycle and had major structural deficiencies.

 

In 1996, due to the anticipated realignment of the I-40 Crosstown, the status of the railroad under the bridge came into question, and the City placed the project on hold.  While on hold, leaders of the local historical, cultural, and architectural groups as well as railroad advocates began a “Save the Bridge” campaign, in part due to its link to the Deep Deuce District and the fact that the bridge had become an integral and beloved part of the community.

 

In 2002, the City directed Brawley to revise the plans to reconstruct the bridge to preserve the historical nature and architectural significance of the bridge.

 

A requirement of the project was to rehabilitate the structure where appropriate and reconstruct the remaining elements to match historic details while meeting current design criteria.  The street portions were reconstructed to improve traffic flow, while brick pavers, landscaping, sidewalks and historic lighting were included to improve esthetics and the pedestrian experience.

 

Along with the engineering challenges, the project was a lesion in patience, adaptation, public relations, and balance.  Sometimes, the most functional, cost effective design is not what the public desires.  Listening, advising the client, and adapting the design without regard to ego lead to the success of this project.

 

 

Crafton Tull Sparks design an innovative and unique, 4,200 seat ballpark to meet the City of Grand Prairie’s need for a home for a minor league professional baseball team within the city limits that would fit within the existing development district.  In addition to the typical amenities of restrooms, concessions, good sightlines, and ease of egress and circulation, unique amenities include a progressive boardwalk with 360 degree viewing of the playing field.

 

With Grand Prairie being the home to several aviation manufacturers, the aviation theme is used throughout the ballpark from the aviation sculpture at the stadium entry to the interiors of the suites, including aeronautical control towers at the entry and the “heliport” area in right field featuring a four-foot deep swimming pool, lounge seating, and a dedicated concession stand.  Other features of the park include a restaurant & cigar bar in left field, and an adult party deck on the 3rd base side.

 

The publication “Baseball Digest” reported on opening night that, “It’s big and bold as Texas, and fans will eat it up.”  The publication also honored QuikTrip Park as the co-winner of the “Best New Ballpark” of the year, and “Best Ballpark Innovation” for its swimming pool.

 

 

 

JAG Engineering’s design for the Putnam City High School Auditorium and Stage Expansion started with the school’s existing original auditorium which was built in the early 1960’s.  Since that time there has been major advancements in theatrical technology.  In order to take full advantage of these new technologies, the project incorporated the removal of the existing roof; a 3,200 square foot addition to the existing building; and, replacement of the existing stage rigging with a computer operated stage rigging system supported by the new roof structure.  The project incorporated the complexity of removing part of the roof, and adding a taller structure while maintaining the stability of the existing building.  The 3,200 foot expansion provided students with a new scene shop, dressing room, prop storage, mechanical and electrical rooms, and stairs and catwalks to access the new stage riggings.

 

The new facility enhances the “real world” experience that the students will gain in this state-of-the-art facility.

 

Garver Engineers performed a conceptual transportation study for the City of Claremore Country Club Road Improvements as well as developing a master plan, and then implemented the 1st phase of the plan through the design of widening Country Club Road to a three and five-lane roadway.  The City of Claremore had identifies this corridor as a Priority project based on the future needs of the City as well as other current issues.  The resulting improvements provides a safer and less congested route through the City as well as access to the significant retail, commercial, and residential developments taking place along Country Club Road.