The ACEC 2024 Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) Gala honored 203 ACEC member firm achievements from across the nation and internationally. A panel of 27 judges representing a wide spectrum of built environment disciplines selected 24 projects for top awards: 16 Honor Awards and eight Grand Awards, which includes one project that won the Grand Conceptor Award for the year’s most outstanding engineering achievement. The sold-out Gala was hosted by award-winning improv comedian Paul Mecurio, and drew nearly 800 members and guests to recognize and honor exceptional engineering innovation.
MTA Grand Central Madison (formerly East Side Access) New York, New York
AECOMClient: Metropolitan Transportation Authority C&D
MTA Grand Central Madison, formerly known as East Side Access, significantly upgrades the Long Island Rail Road’s service to Manhattan’s East Side with 40 miles of new tracks, a new terminal, and extensive excavations deep below Park Avenue in Manhattan. MTA’s largest capital project spanned three boroughs, and included modernizing the Harold Interlocking—the busiest rail junction in the U.S. Several innovations were incorporated, including the use of pneumatically applied concrete to vertical and overhead surfaces through a more powerful force of compressed air rather than traditional cast-in-place methods. The transformational project now provides a one-seat, shorter commute into Manhattan from Long Island. It also allows long-planned rehabilitation work on East River tunnels to begin next year.