Boston, MA The American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts (ACEC/MA) has named VHB as a winner of a 2018 Silver Engineering Excellence Awards for work on the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Underground at Ink Block Infraspace project.

The 2018 Engineering Excellence Awards were announced at the recent ACEC/MA Engineering Excellence and Awards Gala with emcees Beth Larkin, PE, MBTA assistant general manager for capital delivery and Housamm Sleiman, PE, CCM, MassPort director of capital programs & environmental affairs.

VHB was retained by the MassDOT Office of Real Estate and Asset Development to help transform an underutilized, blighted site under the elevated portion of I-93 into a vital community asset. The site had long formed a barrier between neighborhoods, becoming a haven for illicit activities, homelessness and violent crime. Today, what is known as Underground at Ink Block is a vibrant space that combines revenue-generating parking lots, a boardwalk, stormwater treatment, 24-hour security and lighting and an urban park to accommodate art exhibits, markets and community activities.  The space features specialty uplighting, a unique landscape with water retention areas and a multiuse path connecting South Boston with the South End.