© 1999-2021 American Council of Engineering Companies of
Oklahoma. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Engineering
Excellence Awards
2018
HNTB Corporation Honored
as Engineering Excellence
Award "Grand Conceptor"
Riverside Drive at Gathering
Place, Tulsa
The City of Tulsa had a special problem to work through. A
community foundation wanted to create an amazing $465
million park, along the Arkansas River in Tulsa, Oklahoma,
between 41st Street and 21st Street, less than 2 miles from
the downtown
business district.
The park, dubbed a “Gathering Place,” would be
transformational for the city and the region. However, the
city had infrastructure issues in the area, such as stormwater
flooding, aging infrastructure, inadequate water and sewer
lines, and a busy arterial street with significant safety
concerns from chronic speeding, geometric deficiencies, and
roadside safety issues. City leadership knew that it was
critical to establish a foundational infrastructure system to
support the park and it needed to happen in a timely and cost
effective manner.
Often the schedule for privately funded projects moves faster
than publicly funded projects. The privately funded park had
a head start on the public infrastructure already, plus the city
needed to determine how to fund $41 million of critical
infrastructure improvements. HNTB Corporation (HNTB)
started civil, utility, bridge and electrical design work for the
park in 2012. However, it was November 2013 before the
city passed their tax-funded bond initiative. They needed a
firm that could perform quality work in a short timeframe to
catch up with the park. The city hired HNTB in February
2014 and challenged the firm to accelerate design of the
infrastructure improvements to be ready for construction by
the end of the year.
The city broke ground in early 2015 with the first two
projects of an eventual 10 bid packages. The first six critical
projects were under construction within the year.
In addition to overseeing and working alongside the city to
coordinate all utility relocations and right of way
acquisitions, HNTB’s responsibilities also included
coordinating with another primary stakeholder, George
Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF), and the development
team for the Gathering Place park.
The $400 million in private donations for the park brought
extreme scrutiny and stakeholder engagement requirements
to the city’s infrastructure projects. Full construction of the
park and supporting infrastructure took three years, and
anxious residents and businesses watched with interest and
amazement as the old Riverside Drive and undeveloped
floodplain morphed into land bridges, skate parks,
landscaped green ways and more. What once was a
mundane, forgettable stretch of road was becoming a place
where friends could gather, families could play and visitors
would envy as a truly beautiful and functional part of the
city.
The Gathering Place and Riverside Drive re-opened fully in
September 2018 and Tulsans were able to experience this
world-class park and first-class roadway combining to make
this stretch of Tulsa’s Arkansas Riverfront truly unique.
HNTB and the City of Tulsa delivered the city’s bond and
sales tax projects under budget and achieved fantastic
results.
HONOR AWARDS
GUY Engineering Services -
West 81st Street South, Creek
County, OK
Frankhoma Rd is the most travelled road in Creek County
District 2, with a busy industrial park located 0.5 miles east
of the W 81st St South intersection. But economic
development in the area was hampered by the lack of a
roadway connecting Frankhoma Rd to SH-97 just 1.25 miles
away.
The plan to extend 81st St from Frankhoma Rd to SH-97
was delayed for 20 years by funding issues and by a
remapping of the county commissioner districts. In 2010,
GUY Engineering (GUY) received a Notice to Proceed on
the project design, and in early 2018, the new, long-awaited
road opened to the public.
Addressing the challenges of steep terrain and multiple land
uses, GUY developed an alignment that minimized impacts
to property and overhead transmission lines. Public meetings
allowed property owners and other interested parties to
provide input. GUY also coordinated with the ODOT Rail
Division for an at-grade rail crossing agreement.
The 1.25 miles long curbed roadway consists of 2 12-ft lanes
with a continuous 16-ft left turning lane. A storm sewer
system was included in anticipation of future development.
The Frankhoma Rd intersection and approaches were also
reconstructed and raised approximately 6.0 ft, for
compatibility with the BNSF crossing elevation.
Creek County wanted this roadway in order to reduce travel
time for drivers and increase development opportunities in
the area. The completed project successfully fills both of
these needs. In addition, the improved access provided by
this roadway improves emergency vehicle response time for
area residents.
Freese and Nichols - Edmond
Elevated Storage Tank,
Edmond, OK
The City of Edmond’s new, two-million gallon elevated
storage tower (EST) more than doubles the City’s elevated
water storage capacity and, through smart positioning and re-
purposing, drains into an existing ground storage tank when
the EST needs to be flushed. The project is one of the first
constructed as part of the City’s Water and Wastewater
System Master Plan adopted in 2013.
Freese and Nichols provided design and construction
services. The elevated storage tower is the City’s first
composite storage tower and includes SCADA monitoring,
an altitude control valve, and a motor-operated ball valve
which can be used to direct water to the existing ground
storage tank and ultimately into the distribution system.
Additionally, the project included changing the existing
manual butterfly valve actuators to motor-operated actuators.
This will reduce staff travel time to the site by allowing
valves to be opened/closed remotely. The project was
completed within budget with a Construction Cost
(Budgeted and Actual): $5,893,000.
Garver - Water Reclamation
Facility Phase 2 Upgrades,
Norman, OK
The Norman Utilities Authority (NUA) has long been an
advocate of environmental stewardship and has led the state
in the implementation of sustainable solutions to maintain
proper water quality and environmental health. The award-
winning utility was the first in Oklahoma to install a yard
composting service, and their hard-working operations staff
kept the City’s aging wastewater treatment plant (WWTP)
operational and functional for more than twice its original
estimated life cycle.
By 2010, however, some of the treatment processes at the
WWTP had been in operation for more than 50 years, and
Norman’s burgeoning population — it is now the third
largest city in the state — routinely consumed up to 90
percent of the existing capacity. With the receipt of a
compliance schedule to incorporate new regulatory
disinfection requirements, the Authority decided to embark
on an ambitious overhaul of the facility to address all of
these issues, transforming it from a 12 MGD WWTP into a
17 MGD Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) to better serve
the citizens of Norman.
Given Garver’s historical plant knowledge, local access, and
national expertise, the City selected Garver for the study
phase of the program, which identified more than $100
million in capital improvements. Garver performed a
comprehensive audit and evaluated ways to improve the
facility’s operations, address aging infrastructure, comply
with future potential permit requirements, and accommodate
increasing flows. At the conclusion of the study phase,
Garver helped NUA and the City prioritize alternatives.
Garver was then selected for the design and construction
phase, which included improvements to increase treatment
capacity, enhance operational reliability, and address new
effluent discharge requirements. Specifically, Phase 2 of the
project provided enhanced screening operation, advanced
flow split with peak flow bypass, primary clarification
rehabilitation, additional biological treatment capacity with
high-efficiency turbo blowers, secondary clarification,
RAS/WAS pumping with variable frequency drive (VFD)
controls, post aeration, a new parallel 66-inch outfall line,
odor control, solids thickening, and anaerobic digestion. To
address new effluent discharge and redundant power supply
requirements, new UV disinfection/post aeration facilities
and site-wide backup power were installed. The addition of
UV disinfection to the plant has also allowed NUA to
maintain new year-round disinfection requirements, and
improvements to the headworks facilities make it possible
for fewer operators to maintain plant operation during major
storm events.
Garver helped the City realize cost savings through
utilization of some of the plant’s existing infrastructure and
regulatory variance approval from the Oklahoma Department
of Environmental Quality (ODEQ). During the design phase,
Garver conducted multiple workshops with operations staff
involvement, which helped alleviate future operations and
maintenance concerns.
Taking into consideration the size and complexity of the
Norman WRF Phase 2 Upgrades, Garver worked with NUA
to prequalify potential contractors to promote successful
execution and project delivery. Garver also provided on-site
observers during construction who were able to identify
potential issues and successfully coordinated solutions that
minimized the number of change orders. With the receipt of
highly favorable bids from the pool of contractors as well as
tight budget control during construction, NUA had the
opportunity to add multiple features to the project scope.
Garver worked with the contractor to refine the additional
plans, thus saving time and money by streamlining the
process.
This project represented the largest capital improvement
project in the history of the City of Norman and was the
largest Oklahoma Clean Water State Revolving Fund
(CWSRF) loan at the time of award. Since February 2017,
NUA has not reported any permit violations, and the high-
quality effluent discharge is well below the permit limits for
allowable pollutants.
C P & Y, Inc. - Hefner Water
Treatment Plant Sludge
Handling Facility, Oklahoma
City, OK
Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust (OCWUT) was in need
of an innovative solution for the processing of lime sludge
produced as part of the water purification of drinking water
at the City’s Hefner Water Treatment Plant (WTP). Prior to
the construction of the Hefner Solids residuals project the
City owned and operated a lagoon system for lime sludge
with a maximum capacity of 100 million gallons per day
(MGD). Due to the high costs to maintain the lagoons, the
land locked location of the plant, and the operational issues
experienced as plant flows approached 75 MGD, the City
was looking for a solution that would allow for the
abandonment of the lagoons.
Through an initial evaluation of multiple dewatering
alternatives at the plant it was determined that converting to
a belt filter press mechanical dewatering system was the best
solution when treatment capacity was expanded to over 100
MGD. Attempting to maintain the current lagoon system had
a 30-Year NPV of approximately $82 million while the
selected mechanical dewatering alternative had a 30-Year
NPV of approximately $62 million. The mechanical
dewatering system is designed for a water treatment flow of
150 MGD with the ability to be easily expanded to 200
MGD in the future.
To implement the belt filter press mechanical dewatering
solution the following improvements were designed and
constructed: lime sludge pump station to transport the
clarifier blowdown to the solids handling area, two gravity
thickeners to further thicken the solids, two balancing tanks
to equalize the flow, lime sludge recirculation and sludge
feed pump station, belt filter press solids handling building,
polymer feed system, recovery pump station, associated
electrical gear, and truck loading and solids storage area.
While the main focus of the project was addressing
increasing lime sludge as treated flows increased, the
projected also provided additional bolstered systems. First,
the Solids Pump Station responsible for pumping clarifier
blowdown was changed to a dry pit pump station from a
submersible pumps station to allow for easier operation and
maintenance. Secondly, the Recovery Pump Station was
replaced allowing for a return rate of filter backwash water
of 15-20% of the treated water flow at a production rate of
up to 150 MGD. Finally, new heavy duty concrete paving
and a second connection for the plant water loop were
provided to ensure trouble free operations of the plant for
years to come. The total project construction was
approximately $35.5 million.
FINALIST AWARDS
Garver - Pig Farm Road Low
Water Crossing
Improvements, Ft. Sill, OK
Fort Sill plays a vital part in the training of U.S. Army
Troops. However, there was an issue that prevented them
from being able to fully prepare these troops for their duty to
serve our country. Seemingly every time it rained, the East
Cache Creek would flood Pig Farm Road and make one of
the key training ranges inaccessible to trainees.
This is when Garver, LLC (Garver) was called upon to
design a new low water crossing in order to provide better
drainage and the ability to safely reach the training
destination at Fort Sill.
Garver, as Designer of Record, led the planning, design, and
construction administration services of a five-cell, 20-foot by
15-foot reinforced concrete box culvert with headwalls,
wingwalls, and aprons to replace the existing insufficient low
water crossing. This new crossing was designed to allow for
two-way traffic, providing a more efficient flow of traffic
both to and from the training ranges. The new raised
roadway was also designed to pass up to a 25-year storm
without overtopping.
The new crossing and its associated components were
specifically designed to be capable of supporting their own
weight and the weight of the heavy and frequent military
vehicles that utilize the crossing daily.
Garver’s design provided a new crossing, which was
elevated nearly 20-feet above the existing crossing, along
with slope and embankment protection in order to prevent
the erosion of the embankment, road, and culvert during a
100-year flood event. The design and construction of the
new crossing provides the installation with the comfort of
knowing the training ranges can be accessed and utilized
year round without being impeded by flood waters.
MacArthur Associated
Consultants - Iowa & Dakota
Streets Residential Street
Improvements, Norman, OK
The City of Norman selected MacArthur Associated
Consultants, LLC (MAC) to provide professional
engineering consulting and design services for Dakota Street
and Iowa Street from Berry Road to University Boulevard.
The purpose of the project was to replace the aging
pavement and to improve the poor drainage along the two
streets. The existing roadway consisted of both asphalt and
concrete sections with shallow ditches and intermittent storm
sewer. The improved roadway is an asphalt section with
curb, gutter and concrete intersections. MAC provided a
hydraulic and hydrologic analysis of the drainage basin and
the design of a new storm sewer system. Other
improvements included ADA ramps at major intersections
and grading that allows for future sidewalks.
The drainage for this project posed unique challenges. The
terrain is flat, and the flowlines of the existing storm sewers
were shallow. Our team improved the vertical profile in a
way that introduced longitudinal slope for drainage purposes.
This provided positive drainage from each residence towards
the street, in return lowering the profile. Maintaining the
existing drainage patterns was a focal point of the project, so
as to not overload either one of the existing sewer mains that
drain the corridor. The City of Norman chose to use the ADS
Nyloplast Storm Sewer System for construction, as opposed
to the traditional (ODOT) standards and specifications. The
Nyloplast System is less expensive and results in a quicker
installation, perfect for this type of project.
The initial project began in February 2015. The first set of
final plans, specifications and estimates were submitted to
the City of Norman in March 2016. The project was initiated
with a very constrained budget due to the limited funding
sources. Unique contracting methods were employed when it
was discovered that traditional contracting methods would
not allow the project to remain within budget. The City
opted to use a mix of internal forces and contractors for
specific individual tasks. The initial three phases were
further separated into nine individual projects, each one
managed and overseen by the City staff.
Garver - Camp Gruber Fire &
Emergency Services Report,
Camp Gruber, OK
Located 14 miles southeast of Muskogee, Oklahoma, the
Camp Gruber Training Center covers more than 33,000 acres
and offers world-class military training ranges and facilities.
Currently, all emergency services are obtained from private
outside services from the local community who respond
voluntarily and receive no compensation for their services
from Camp Gruber. Camp Gruber is committed to
developing a location-specific Fire and Emergency Services
(F&ES) program to alleviate pressure from these local
emergency services and provide quality F&ES to the
installation.
In an effort to assess this goal, the Oklahoma Military
Department (OMD) asked the Garver Team to provide a
comprehensive analysis of the F&ES requirements for the
installation. This involved assessing the level of risk within
the Camp Gruber Training Center community and weighing
the risks associated with current and proposed alternative
response capabilities. The Garver Team prepared the two-
part Community Risk Assessment/Standard of Cover
(CRA/SOC) report for Camp Gruber to summarize the
results of the analysis.
The CRA was completed to identify firefighting
requirements and determine the levels of risk in Camp
Gruber’s operational program. The CRA assessed Camp
Gruber’s F&ES mission in six major functional areas: 1) the
structure and number of firefighting companies employed at
Camp Gruber; 2) the total elapsed time for response of
suppression forces to a given incident; 3) wildland urban
interface; 4) HAZMAT; 5) technical rescue and confined
space rescue; and 6) fire prevention.
The second part of the report, the SOC, was completed to
safeguard the effectiveness and efficiency of establishing the
Camp Gruber F&ES as well as fire suppression operations,
emergency medical services, and special operations delivery
in protecting the personnel working or training on Camp
Gruber. The Garver Team analyzed multiple factors as part
of the SOC, including community profiles, installation risks,
facility life safety requirements, fire-scene tasks, and service
delivery performance standards set forth by the Army. The
analysis of all these factors led to the justification and
exploration of options for staffing the planned F&ES
resources as well as detailed response plans to handle the
risks these resources are expected to face.
This project was submitted to OMD more than four weeks
ahead of schedule. With the completion of this important
report, the OMD and Camp Gruber have the tools they need
to justify the placement and staffing of appropriate F&ES
resources on base, which will offer timely, comprehensive
emergency response services.
MacArthur Associated
Consultants - SkyWest
Airlines Maintenance Facility,
Oklahoma City, OK
In 2017, SkyWest Airlines selected Will Rogers World
Airport (WRWA) in Oklahoma City to build their newest
state-of-the-art maintenance facility bringing over 100 new
jobs for maintenance professionals and potential for more.
The new maintenance facility is 135,000 square-feet,
accommodates up to nine regional aircraft, and supports
overnight maintenance for its four major airline partners.
Mike Thompson, SkyWest Airlines Chief Operating Officer,
said “SkyWest Airlines selected Oklahoma City because of
its location, competitive costs, and connectivity throughout
our operation.”
SkyWest Airlines selected McAlvain Companies, Inc.
(McAlvain) to manage the design and construction of the
new hangar with an 18-month schedule. McAlvain selected
MacArthur Associated Consultants, LLC (MAC) to provide
professional civil engineering services due to MAC’s
experience and knowledge of Will Rogers World Airport, air
spacing issues and solutions, airfield and site design, ability
to mitigate 404 issues with the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (USACE), and ability to meet an accelerated
schedule. MAC’s services included aviation planning and air
spacing, survey, site design, utility relocation and
coordination, permit coordination with the City of Oklahoma
City and USACE, and construction administration.
This project had an accelerated schedule due to SkyWest
needing to be in the hangar by June 2018. MAC received
notice-to-proceed in March 2017 and provided a rough
grading and utility package on May 17, 2017. The schedule
was further complicated by a “blue-line” creek channel that
had to be mitigated through the Tulsa District – USACE. In
addition, the City of Oklahoma City Stormwater Department
underwent a staff change bringing with them new
requirements. Even with these hurdles, the team was able to
get SkyWest into their facility by August 2018.