ACEC/MA names Michael Baker Int'l. as 2017 winner of two bronze engineering excellence awards

Boston, MA The American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts (ACEC/MA) has named Michael Baker International as a winner of two 2017 bronze engineering excellence awards for work the Holyoke Depot Square Railroad Station project and the Virtual Tunnel Inspection Training project, a nationwide endeavor that includes Worcester and Boston.

The 2017 engineering excellence awards were announced at the recent ACEC/MA Engineering Excellence and Awards Gala with emcees Carol Gladstone, commissioner of the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance and commissioner Leo Roy of the Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Michael Baker International, with offices in Waltham, was retained by the city of Holyoke to provide architecture, engineering and construction engineering and inspection for a new passenger rail platform. The project involved place-making urban design strategies, innovative lighting design solutions, carefully planned accessibility features, and fast-track construction techniques, engaging a diverse team to accomplish a shared vision for a modern passenger rail facility. On August 27, 2015, Amtrak’s Vermonter train stopped and opened its doors at the new station, marking the first passenger train to stop in Holyoke since 1966.

The firm also took a bronze for its work on the Virtual Tunnel Inspection Training project, an undertaking of the National Highway Institute to assess the condition of tunnels throughout the country to avoid a decline in service and maintain a safe and functional highway system.  As the nation’s tunnels age, a thorough assessment of each tunnel’s condition is critical to avoid a decline in service and maintain a safe and functional highway system

The course’s computer-based, three-dimensional, virtual reality tunnel inspection application provides hands-on experience with the tools and techniques that are used in tunnel inspection.  The Michael Baker team applied innovative instructional system design principles to develop this highly interactive five-day course, which covers the entire breadth of knowledge necessary to perform a successful tunnel inspection.

“The winning projects exemplify ingenuity and professionalism and represent the breadth of engineering’s contribution to our everyday lives,” said ACEC/MA president Mark Bartlett PE, senior associate at Stantec, Inc. “They are outstanding examples of how engineers connect communities, provide safe and reliable water and energy, and make our buildings safe and efficient. The professional engineers and their colleagues at our member firms are dedicated to working on quality infrastructure, which wouldn’t otherwise exist. These outstanding projects are but a few examples of the quality work designed by Massachusetts engineering firms.”