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F&H Wins Big at ACEC/SC Awards
Florence & Hutcheson (F&H) of Columbia, a national engineering firm focused on designing and strengthening America’s civil infrastructure, received two Engineering Excellence Awards at the 2010 American Council of Engineering Companies of South Carolina’s Annual Awards Gala. F&H received an Engineering Excellence Award for their implementation of a Foundation Testing Program for the US 378 Bridge over Great Pee Dee River and an Honor Award for their work on the Bonbon Lane Piping Project. A group of F&H employees were present to accept the awards at the Annual Awards Gala.
“Being recognized by the ACEC/SC is a great honor,” said David Beaty, Executive Vice President and Head of South Carolina Operations. “Winning in two very different categories shows our wide range of capabilities to perform anything from small, community projects like Bonbon Lane to a large scale testing program for the South Carolina Department of Transportation. We are very privileged to be able to work so closely with the SCDOT and the residents of Richland County.”
The foundation testing program for the US-378 Bridge over the Great Pee Dee River provided a comprehensive assessment of the candidate foundations for the proposed bridge replacement, both from a design and construction perspective. Valuable insight was gained regarding the use of large diameter prestressed concrete cylinder piles for bridge construction.
“Although these piles were not used in the final design of this project, the information gathered from this program will be used to aid in future consideration of large diameter cylinder piles,” said Bener Amado, PE, Program Manager from the South Carolina Department of Transportation.
F&H’s second award winning project, Bonbon Lane Piping Project, allowed F&H to focus on strengthening the heart of America’s infrastructure, our own neighbors’ backyards. The project was performed for the Richland County Department of Public Works to address an unsafe drainage ditch that was experiencing severe erosion located in the backyards of residents of a small community. F&H placed a storm drain within the existing ditch, filled the ditch and made minor stream improvements at the outfall of the drainage system to improve the terrain and safety conditions surrounding the homes.
“In addition to developing the design for the project, Florence & Hutcheson, in conjunction with the County, conducted a public meeting and coordinated with property owners throughout the construction process to ensure the project met the needs of the community. The project was completed and areas formerly unusable are now being used for recreation by the property owners. The end result is a successful project for the citizens of Richland County,” said Srinivas Valavala, Richland County Stormwater Manager.
ACEC/SC annually presents the “Engineering Excellence Awards” to honor and recognize engineering and surveying firms located in South Carolina for projects that demonstrate the highest degree of achievement, value and ingenuity. The annual awards gala was held Feb. 9 at the Columbia Museum of Art.
