B&N Receives Top Award for Floodwall Project

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The design of the Columbus, Ohio floodwall project earned Burgess & Niple the top award in the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Engineering Excellence Awards competition.

The firm was presented with ACEC Grand Award during a National Engineers Week luncheon on February 25, 2004.

The $135 million floodwall, more formally known as the West Columbus Local Protection Project, provides a seven-mile-long barrier around the historic Franklinton area southwest of Downtown Columbus, with an extension along I-71 on the southwest side of the city.

The Franklinton area has a long history of flooding problems. Major floods devastated the area in 1913, 1937 and 1959.

B&N received five design contracts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Huntington District for preparation of design memorandums, detailed plans, specifications and quantity and cost estimates. B&N also was responsible for reviewing shop drawings, preparing contract modifications, making site visits and completing “as-build” drawings.

The firm successfully integrated the floodwall into an urban setting by incorporating features such as bike and pedestrian ways, trellis work and landscaping, that create a park-like environment along the river’s edge.

Wall graphics and landscaping were incorporated into the project to improve the appearance of the floodwall as it runs along I-71, south of downtown Columbus.

Nearly 13,000 residents, business operators and property owners within the 2,600-acre area will benefit from the floodwall project. In the event of a 100-year-flood, the floodwall will provide estimated savings of more than $320 million in damages.

The Engineering Excellence Awards competition is sponsored annually by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Ohio – a statewide trade association comprised of 150 companies that provide a wide array of engineering and other professional services for all types of construction and environmental improvement projects. Projects entered in the competition are judged on the basis of technical innovation, social and economic value and other factors.

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