Needham, MA The American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts (ACEC/MA) has named Jacobs as a finalist of their 2020 Engineering Excellence Award for their work on the roadway and bridge improvements along a 3.5 mile long section of I-95 in Needham and Wellesley.

The 2020 Engineering Excellence Awards were recently announced and will be celebrated at the 2021 ACEC/MA Engineering Excellence and Awards Gala. The awards celebrate innovation, ingenuity, and excellence in engineering achievement.

This project was the last phase of a 20-year effort by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) to widen the I-95 (Rte. 128) corridor to four travel lanes and a full shoulder in each direction. The project provided an increase in the capacity of the mainline, primarily through improved merge and diverge operations. The elimination of travel on the shoulder provides a smoother traffic flow and safer environment by returning the shoulder/breakdown lane to its intended purpose during the eight hours it was previously used as a travel lane and by providing adequate merge and diverge areas.

As of project completion, I-95 now has a consistent cross section of eight lanes from Canton to Peabody. Additional roadway improvements included widened shoulders at the median, a new interchange at Kendrick St., new collector/distributor roads between Kendrick St. and Highland Ave., auxiliary lanes in each direction between Highland Ave. and Rte. 9, and a reconfiguration of the Rte. 9 interchange. The project required construction of three replacement bridges and one new bridge, widening of an historic bridge, and demolition of an abandoned railroad bridge. Over 11,000 feet of retaining walls were built in 18 locations throughout the project area. In addition, over 10,000 feet of noise barriers were constructed in seven locations.

“The Engineering Excellence Awards program recognizes engineering firms for projects that demonstrate a high degree of achievement, value and ingenuity,” said Jennifer Howe, president of ACEC/MA and principal and vice president at Symmes Maini & McKee Associates (SMMA). 

“Entrants are rated by an independent panel of judges from the architectural community, the construction industry, academia, the media, and the public sector on the basis of uniqueness and originality; future value to the profession and perception by the public; social, economic and sustainable development considerations; complexity; and successful fulfillment of the client/owner’s need, including schedule and budget. We congratulate them and thank them for their contributions to improving the quality of our everyday lives.”

About ACEC/MA
The American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts (ACEC/MA) is the business association of the Massachusetts and Rhode Island engineering industry, representing over 120 independent engineering companies engaged in the development of transportation, environmental, industrial, and other infrastructure. Founded in 1960 and headquartered in Boston, MA, ACEC/MA is a member organization of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) based in Washington, DC. ACEC is a national federation of 51 state and regional organizations. For more information on ACEC/MA, visit their website at www.acecma.org. ACEC/MA is undertaking an awareness campaign to educate the public on the many contributions engineers make (or the engineering innovations) in everyday life through their hash tag #EngineeringGoFigure. To Follow us on Twitter: @ACECMA.