Quality Assurance Effort Helps Speed Delivery of Cost-Effective Improvements
WASHINGTON, DC (March 28, 2023) – COWI of New York City has earned a National Recognition Award for exemplary engineering achievement in the American Council of Engineering Companies’ (ACEC) 56th annual Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) for providing design-build quality oversight for upgrades to the Hugh L. Carey and Queens Midtown Tunnels.
Superstorm Sandy accelerated the wear and tear on the tunnels, requiring significant upgrades to maintain safety and reliability. COWI was part of a joint venture contracted by Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority to provide quality oversight for five contracts representing $123 million worth of life safety and resilience upgrades. The contracts’ use of concurrent design and construction work, known as design-build, helped expedite the improvements and provided opportunities to reduce costs.
COWI’s innovative approach allowed the work to be monitored efficiently, in a coordinated manner, and with the close involvement of multiple stakeholders—all with no disruptions to the public. Despite being carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic, the project was completed on schedule and under budget. The project will serve as a valuable model for future efforts to modernize New York City’s aging infrastructure through cost-effective project delivery models.
The project is among 179 EEA entries this year representing engineering excellence from throughout the nation and the world. Judging for the awards program—known industry-wide as the “Academy Awards of the engineering industry”– took place in March and was conducted by a national 27-member panel of built environment leaders, along with experts from government, the media and academia. Award criteria focused on uniqueness and originality, technical innovation, social and economic value, and generating excitement for the engineering profession.
Recognition of all 2023 award winners, including top winners—16 Honor Awards, 8 Grand Awards and the prestigious “Grand Conceptor Award” for the year’s most outstanding overall engineering achievement—will take place at the annual EEA Gala Dinner and Awards Program, a black-tie event to be held Tuesday, June 13, 2023, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, D.C.
The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) is the business association of America’s engineering industry, representing more than 5,200 independent engineering firms and more than 600,000 professionals throughout the United States engaged in the development of America’s transportation, water and energy infrastructure, along with environmental, industrial and other public and private facilities. Founded in 1906 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., ACEC is a national federation of 52 state and regional organizations.