OMAHA, NE — Several HDR projects in Nebraska received 2022 Engineering Excellence Awards from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC). The state-winning projects advanced to the national ACEC Engineering Excellence Awards competition, which culminates with the announcement of national award winners at the Engineering Excellence Awards Gala on May 24. The gala, which recognizes the year’s most remarkable engineering achievements, is part of the 2022 ACEC Annual Conference.

The winning projects in Nebraska include:

The Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) is in the process of a major reconstruction of interstate highways 29, 80, and 480 in the Council Bluffs metropolitan area. This comprehensive interstate redesign, known as the Council Bluffs Interstate System Improvement Program, will modernize and improve over 14 miles of interstate, accommodate planned development along the corridors, reduce traffic congestion, and improve mobility and safety for all travelers.

In 2013, Iowa DOT selected HDR as the CBIS program manager and general engineering consultant. Working closely with Iowa DOT in a co-located office in Council Bluffs, HDR is helping Iowa DOT manage and deliver the $1.5-billion program, overseeing its budget and scheduling through a suite of program controls and risk management tools. HDR's team works as an extension of Iowa DOT, providing leadership and innovation in areas such as utility relocations, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers levees, strategic communications, traffic management, and construction management.

In the past, biogas was considered a nuisance, and either ignored or flared at anaerobic digestion facilities. New technologies and enhanced biogas recovery systems have turned this wasted byproduct into a valuable energy resource. Biogas utilization has emerged as a viable option for generating value from waste byproducts.

Since 2013, HDR has assisted the City of Lincoln’s Wastewater System with digester improvements and biogas utilization at its two wastewater treatment facilities — Theresa Street Wastewater Treatment Facility and Northeast Treatment Facility.

Over the last decade, the Hubbard Center for Children reached capacity in their existing facilities and decided to grow — in scope and space — to continue to meet the needs of children and families in the region.

This expansion transforms a confined, urban site into a 10-story hospital that doubles the size of the existing hospital, adding 100 beds, new services, and new and improved features, including: 17 operating rooms, 20-room emergency department, imaging center, NICU and PICU, 32-bed cardiac care center, on-site outpatient pharmacy, and rooftop helipad. The facility also includes a hematology and oncology unit with its own dedicated floor.

The University of Nebraska Omaha continues the development of their Center Street campus with the addition of Maverick Park — a new baseball and softball stadium complex. The site rises sharply away from the street to the west climbing 45 feet with a continued rise into multi-family residential beyond. The north/south topography remains constant allowing for each field to occupy one of the two ideal orientations.

The new complex's sequence of arrival guides fans along an ascending path to the open concourse and pavilion. From the concourse, patrons then descend into either seating bowl, which is carved into the hillside. On the concourse rests the "Y" shaped pavilion, which contains fan amenities. Above the covered deck is a covered, open air second deck open to both fields. The remainder of the pavilion consists of press and broadcast facilities for each field.

In the late 1990s, the City of Omaha knew there was excess sediment entering into Zorinsky Lake, a city-managed reservoir. Twenty years later, the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District constructed three water quality basins to protect Zorinsky Lake from sediment, silt, pollutants and nutrients.

As construction progressed into 2019, and the surrounding residential developments grew, adjacent landowners opposed the on-site mitigation measures. HDR's team quickly modified the stream mitigation strategy during construction. They moved the stream mitigation to Flanagan Lake, which saved significant costs for P-MRNRD.

Other projects in Nebraska receiving Engineering Excellence Awards include:

• Des Moines Integrated Corridor Management Study - Merit Award
• Grand Island Area 2045 Long Range Transportation Plan - Merit Award