TUCSON, AZ — Several HDR<> projects in Arizona and Colorado 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 the Rocky Mountain Construction area include:

The Tres Rios Water Reclamation Facility is the centralized biosolids processing facility for Pima County’s eight WRFs. In addition to the task of cleaning wastewater, the Pima County Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department opted to facilitate the capture of energy and nutrients, specifically the capture of phosphorus as struvite, which has a market value as a fertilizer additive.

HDR provided progressive design-build services for an approximately $6-million struvite sequestration system to reduce struvite formation potential, reduce ferric acid and polymer use, and improve the dewaterability of the solids handling process.

HDR and CSHQA were selected as the design and preservation team for the historic Wyoming State Capitol in Cheyenne. The project encompassed a comprehensive restoration of the exterior stone, windows, metal entablature, and dome of the 130-year-old statehouse, as well as extensive renovations to the interior. The project expanded to include major design upgrades to the adjacent Herschler State Office Building.

Key components of the renovation and restoration project include:

• Damages repaired to improve functions, bringing the building into compliance with current state and federal codes.
• Restoration of the building's historical qualities to their original grandeur.
• Functional renovations to the adjacent Herschler State Office Building. The building received a fully-replaced cladding system and was expanded to accommodate the increased space needs of Wyoming’s state government.
• Expansion and enhancement of The Connector, the below-grade common space joining the two buildings, with revitalized public meeting and hospitality functions to support both buildings.

Other projects receiving Engineering Excellence Awards include:

• Breckenridge North Water Treatment Plant in Colorado - Honor Award
• Siphon 1 Aerial Pipeline Replacement in Colorado - Honor Award
• Boulder Foothills Underpass in Colorado - Merit Award