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Oklahoma. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Engineering
Excellence Awards
2015
HDR Honored as Engineering
Excellence Award "Grand
Conceptor" For
Verdigris Water Treatment
Plant
Problem: It seemed like a good idea back in 1979:
Broken Arrow, population 35,000 at the time, would
pipe its water in from the Oklahoma Ordnance
Works Authority’s treatment plant 23 miles away
and save some money. Fast forward 34 years, and
you find a city of more than 100,000 relying on a
single, quickly aging pipeline to meet its growing
water needs. The single-source pipeline failed
dramatically in 2013, when a rupture in the pipe left
the city without water for several days. As a result,
Broken Arrow issued a water emergency, the Tulsa
County Health Department ordered Broken Arrow
food establishments to cease operations and a boil
order was issued.
Solution: The new Verdigris Water Treatment
Plant—the first large membrane treatment plant in
Oklahoma and one of the largest in the country—is
the city of Broken Arrow’s largest-ever public
construction project. The $58 million plant, finished
on-time and $8 million below budget, is also the
largest treatment plant ever funded by the
Oklahoma Water Resources Board.
From the public’s perspective, for the first time ever,
the water treatment plant offers complete control
over their water supply—from water acquisition
through primary and secondary disinfection to
delivery to customers. The new plant uses a state-of-
the-art membrane filtration system, which filters
microorganisms better than conventional treatment
methods by forcing water through extremely fine,
porous tubes, allowing the city to use fewer
chemicals.
The plant features a raw water intake and pump
station on the Verdigris River, two pre-sedimentation
reservoirs with a combined storage of more than
260 million gallons, a 31,000-square-foot membrane
facility, a 6-million-gallon clearwell for storing
finished water, a high-service pump station and
three emergency generators, which can operate the
treatment plant during power outages. The system
reliably produces 20 million gallons per day (mgd)
and is expandable to 40 mgd.
To accomplish disinfection, the Verdigris Water
Treatment Plant uses free chlorine generated on-site
as sodium hypochlorite for primary disinfection, and
chloramines for secondary disinfection. These
disinfection processes are significantly less
dangerous than the chlorine gas and free chlorine
commonly used for primary and secondary
disinfection—producing fewer disinfection
byproducts and creating a safer working
environment for plant staff. Fluoride is also added
for dental protection.
The facility’s pumps, variable frequency drives,
pump control valves, and electrical equipment
provide the highest energy efficiency practical and
available on the market today. The new high-service
pumps and raw water pumps both provide at least
25 percent higher efficiency than EPA Region 6’s
standards—saving 2.4 million kilowatt hours, or
$173,000, annually. The city received a $500,000
green infrastructure grant for utilizing the higher-
efficiency pumps.
The facility contains an advanced laboratory for
water quality testing and analyses, which has been
used as a teaching lab for new employees, city staff
and industry colleagues. It’s a case study for the rest
of the state on advanced, state-of-the-art treatment
plant design, which required the newly hired
operations team to learn two new SCADA systems:
one for the pumps, chemical dosing process and
other systems, and one for the membrane system.
The system includes a computerized control room,
versus the analog room in the old facility, which
allows most functions to be automated.
HONOR AWARDS
Leidos Engineering - Creek
Turnpike Widening
The Creek Turnpike project included the design and
plan production for approximately 41,400 feet of
mainline widening of the existing four (4) lane
roadway to six (6) lanes by adding two lanes along
the center median. The western extent of the
proposed improvements was US 75 and the eastern
extent was South Memorial Drive.
The proposed mainline median widening
transformed the existing 46-foot wide median from
an open, depressed grassed median into a paved
median consisting of an additional traffic lane and
inside shoulder in each direction. The new median
lanes and shoulders were constructed adjacent to
the existing inside lanes.
The Creek mainline bridge improvements consisted
of widening ten pairs of existing Creek Turnpike
Bridges (20 bridges).
One major challenge of the project was that the
timeline to design and let the project for
construction was greatly accelerated. The originally
planned 15 month design effort was compressed to
8 months to meet client needs.
Other challenges included:
•
Design activities, coordination with affected
public and private agencies along with
communication with the Oklahoma
Turnpike Authority had to be streamlined
to efficiently maximize the available time
and meet the project’s schedule.
•
Coordination with affected public and
private agencies began early on in the
project, often with preliminary design
information.
•
Normal design milestone review meetings
with OTA were replaced with review
meetings approximately every two weeks.
•
Utility relocation and constructability issues
were discussed and analyzed early in the
design process.
•
Due to environmental concerns, certain
project segments could only be constructed
during specified months of the year. These
environmental concerns had to be factored
into the project design and the suggested
sequence of construction.
Leidos Engineering - I-44 /
Lewis Avenue Interchange
The I-44/Lewis Avenue project consisted of the
design of a new interchange at Interstate 44 and
Lewis Avenue as part of overall corridor
improvements proposed by the Oklahoma
Department of Transportation along one of the most
congested urban interstate corridors in the City of
Tulsa. The overall corridor improvement and
widening project extended along Interstate 44 from
the Riverside Avenue to Harvard Avenue
interchanges. The Leidos project included
approximately 4,200 feet of I-44 mainline widening
and reconstruction. This project included widening
of the interstate from 4 lanes to 6 lanes with
additional parallel acceleration and deceleration
lanes. Approximately 1,500 feet of Lewis Avenue
was also improved and widened, along with the
frontage roads.
Project Challenges:
•
Utility Relocation: Tight utility clearances for the
relocation of existing sanitary sewer line and
conflict resolution with proposed storm sewer
line. Alternate design was prepared to eliminate
conflict and limit cost overruns during
construction.
•
Leaking Underground Storage Tanks (LUST):
Special design considerations included
identification and avoidance of existing LUST
sites under the existing perched water table
conditions along the project corridor.
•
Maintenance of Traffic (Construction Sequence
& Traffic Control): Design focused on
maintaining all four lanes (two lanes eastbound
and two lanes westbound) of interstate traffic
along I-44 for the project duration. Access to
local businesses and residential areas along
Lewis Avenue, 51st Street and the Westbound
Frontage Road was also maintained during the
project.
•
Walls: Tall cast-in-place concrete retaining walls
were required parallel to the mainline, up to 29
feet in height, adjacent to the new bridge at
Lewis Avenue. The tall retaining walls required
deep foundations supported on up to 7 foot
diameter drilled shafts.Proximity of new bridge
to existing bridge: The new bridge was
constructed at the end of the existing bridge,
with less than 30 feet between the end of the
existing bridge and the start of the new bridge.
The existing bridge structure was a single
haunched concrete slab span structure, and the
stability of the existing bridge (which still had
traffic under it during construction) was a
concern once the excavation began for the new
bridge. This situation was carefully analyzed
and a portion of the new bridge was not built
until a later stage of construction to ensure the
stability of the system.
•
Freestanding Neighborhood Fence: The cast in
place concrete freestanding neighborhood
fence was supported using 2’-6” diameter drilled
shafts. A double 8 foot by 4 foot reinforced
concrete box crossed under the mainline and
also under the freestanding neighborhood
fence. A 4’-8” tall by 2’-6” wide concrete grade
beam was designed to support the fence at the
reinforced concrete box crossing since drilled
shaft supports could not be used at this
location..
Freese & Nichols - Norman
Comprehensive
Transportation Plan
The City of Norman’s first-ever comprehensive
transportation plan addresses thoroughfare, transit,
pedestrian and bicycle planning in a single, cohesive
document. It is the first time this city of 118,000 has
approached transportation as a comprehensive
planning activity, identifying and prioritizing needs,
identifying funding, developing design standards
and enabling the City to move quickly into pursuing
funding and implementing prioritized projects
across the spectrum of transportation modes and
geographic locations.
The Firm led a consultant team that included the
engineering firms of Garver and Alliance
Transportation. They developed a comprehensive
plan that encompasses all modes of transportation
in the city. The team worked with a diverse, 45-
member Citizens Visioning Committee (CVC) which
split into four subcommittees:
1. Automobile Capacity, Quality of Service and
Parking
2. Pedestrian and Bicycle Mobility, Safety and
Streetscape
3. Transit Capacity and Quality of Service
4. Freight Movement, Airports and Emergency
Response
As public meetings, hearings and City Council
briefings progressed, the project team and the CVC
identified five Guiding Principles encompassing 28
specific objectives. The team then delivered a multi-
modal plan, including a complete streets ordinance,
design standards, a trail and bike system and
sidewalk gap analysis that was adopted
unanimously by the City of Norman City Council.
The CTP has been followed by implementation of:
•
A prioritized project to design and
construct Rock Creek Road, including a
proposed residential roundabout, bike
lanes and an urban streetscape
•
Applications for funding infrastructure
improvements recommended in the Plan
•
A recommended study regarding
converting Main and Gray Streets from a
one-way pair to two two-way streets.
Guy Engineering - Crow Creek
Drainage Improvement
Project
After years of severe flooding, the historic
neighborhood of East 21st Place and South Florence
Place in Tulsa, OK has 62 fewer homeowners
concerned about flooding, with the regulatory
floodplain being removed from 39 homes.
Concerned citizens worked with City of Tulsa and the
consultant, to implement a park-like detention
facility that provided relief from the flooding.
When The Firm was selected to engineer this
project, the plan was to connect to an existing
junction box under the Broken Arrow Expressway
(BAX). However, the Firm determined that
connecting to this junction box posed several
challenges, including extended lane closures on the
BAX and increased water flow downstream. Instead,
The Firm proposed that the storm sewer relief line
outlet into a dry, grass-lined detention facility
immediately upstream of the BAX. While this
solution required the acquisition of four properties,
it eliminated impacts to the BAX and prevented
negative impacts to the downstream storm system.
This solution not only mitigated the flooding
problem and removed 39 residences from the
regulatory floodplain, but it also saved construction
costs, reduced traffic disruption, and provided the
neighborhood with a park.
The Firm’s design included innovations that reduced
cost and increased value engineering. One
innovation was using low-cost high performance turf
reinforcement mat to provide erosion control for
areas of higher velocity. The Firm also used precast
reinforced concrete boxes to speed construction and
reduce the time that residents were unable to
access their driveways.
Affected residents were involved from the beginning
of the project. Multiple public meetings were held to
ensured that the final design addressed citizen
concerns. For example, residents requested a park-
like facility with grass and tree plantings, and the
design was ultimately able to accommodate these
requests. The Firm also took steps to ensure that
each driveway was accessible at the end of the day
and that citizens experienced no disruptions in their
water and sewer services, and also included a
landscaping plan to provide a sound and sight
barrier from the highway.
This complex project, which took about nine months
to complete, combined funding from multiple
sources. Of the $2.2 million to complete the project,
$1.5 million came from a FEMA grant; the other
$700,000 was funds from the city's stormwater
utility fee. City Councilor G.T. Bynum said it was a
team effort to get it completed. “It was a bipartisan
team of officials from the city, our state legislative
delegation and our federal delegation all working
together to promote this one project, in this one
neighborhood.”
FINALIST AWARDS
CEC - Extend & Light Runway
17-35 & Parallel Taxiway
In order to better support the civilian jet traffic at the
airport, as well as the mission at nearby Vance Air
Force Base, Runway 17/35 was extended 2,362’ to a
usable length of 8,000’.
This new length will allow Air Force T-38s to now use
the airport, and will provide increased safety to the
corporate traffic and other Air Force trainers that
currently use it.
In addition to providing more capacity and
redundancy for 400 new Air Force student pilots
each year, the extended runway at Enid Woodring
Regional Airport will be an alternate landing site
when Vance’s outside runway is reconstructed next
year.
As a perquisite to extending the runway, 3 parcels of
land were acquired and Southgate Road was re-
routed, along with associated utilities, to provide
adequate Runway Object Free Area as well as
obstruction clearance for the approach to Runway
35.
In order to reduce the impact during construction to
the airport, a temporary displaced threshold was
installed on Runway 35, allowing all corporate
tenants to continue to operate throughout the
project.
During the project, the runway was only closed for a
total of 4 days. The firm provided engineering,
grant administration, and construction
administration and inspection services on the $5.5
million project.
The full length runway is now open and capable of
accommodating T-38 aircraft and will continue to
bolster the economic impact the airport has on the
City of Enid and northwest Oklahoma.
Poe And Associates - I-235 /
10th Street / Harrison Ave
Interchange
The 10th Street corridor is anchored with St.
Anthony Hospital on the west, Presbyterian
Research Park (recently purchased by the University
of Oklahoma) in the middle, and the University of
Oklahoma Health Sciences Center on the east.
This project garnered tremendous support resulting
in dedicated congressional funds. Upon receipt of
these funds, the Oklahoma Department of
Transportation (ODOT) selected the Firm to design
the reconstruction of the existing I-235 northbound
ramp to Harrison Avenue including a northbound
exit ramp that would allow motorists direct access to
10th Street.
Working through several design concepts, the
ultimate goal of the design team, in partnership with
ODOT, was to find a design that would meet St.
Anthony’s access needs as well as satisfy the access
needs of additional stakeholders in the area.
Working closely with ODOT, the Firm completed a
preliminary design of the project that involved the
investigation of numerous alignments for the I-
235/10th Street/Harrison Avenue ramp project
accompanied by stakeholders meetings.
Input from these stakeholders meetings resulted in
a unique and innovative final design that provide
direct access to both Harrison Avenue and 10th
Street from I-235.
Shortly thereafter, the Firm was notified that a
proposed new development was planned for the
project area and the project schedule would be
accelerated to accommodate the construction and
opening of the new facility.
The success of the project was only possible
because of the tremendous cooperation and team
effort by all entities involved, including the
Oklahoma Department of Transportation, the City of
Oklahoma City, St. Anthony Hospital, the Oklahoma
City Urban Renewal Authority, and General Electric.
Crafton Tull - Macy’s
Fulfillment Center
Regional and state leaders worked together to bring
the new Macy’s fulfillment center to Tulsa County in
what would be the largest jobs announcement in
Oklahoma in the last 10 years. Key to landing the
project were incentives offered by the governor’s
office, the Cherokee Nation, the Oklahoma
Department of Transportation, Tulsa County and the
City of Owasso. Collaboration between these
organizations and others in both public and private
sectors was critical to attracting the milestone
project to the state.
Macy’s is one of the largest internet retailers in the
world, with more than $4 billion in annual e-
commerce sales. The company announced plans to
build a new 1.3 million-square foot direct-to-
consumer fulfillment center in December 2013 to
better serve its online customers and in response to
the changing ways consumers buy and shop.
Months before the announcement, as Macy’s
continued its site evaluation process that included
consideration of more than 150 sites in multiple
states, the Firm prepared a comprehensive
feasibility study for the 74 acres on which the facility
would eventually be built.
Once the site selection was finalized, Macy’s
revealed its plans to construct the $170 million
facility via a fast-track design-build process. A 12-
month target completion date meant earthwork for
the project needed to start as quickly as possible.
The Firms site development team adapted a heavily
compressed, front-loaded schedule to allow
construction crews to begin work on time.
Site design elements included three off-site
stormwater detention basins, 1,356 total parking
stalls, 103 trailer parking stalls, approximately one
mile of 12” waterline, sanitary sewer, platting, and
adjacent public roadway widening and extensions.
The Firm provided civil engineering, surveying,
landscape architecture, and construction
observation services, operating under contracts with
multiple organizations, including Macy’s, Tulsa
County, Owasso Land Trust, and Layton
Construction.
The project is a resounding success for Macy’s and
aligns with their goal to adapt to new consumer
buying habits. It’s also a major boost to the
Oklahoma economy, bringing 1,500 year round jobs
when fully operational and an estimated annual
economic impact of $80 million over the next 10
years