Trunk Highway 61 rehabilitation in Grand Portage cited in national engineering competition

LHB of Duluth, Minnesota, has earned a National Recognition Award for exemplary engineering achievement in the American Council of Engineering Companies’ (ACEC) 55th annual Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) for the Trunk Highway 61 Roadway Rehabilitation and Safety Improvement Designated as an “All American Road,” Trunk Highway 61 is the only serviceable regional connector to the U.S.- Canadian border. It also provides access to local businesses that rely on tourism as well as residents along the north shore of Lake Superior. The Minnesota Department of Transportation sought to rehabilitate the pavement on TH 61’s northernmost 17 miles, which pass through the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Reservation to the International Border.

LHB provided design solutions that met the project’s infrastructure quality and safety needs for motorized and non-motorized users in Grand Portage. The project team drew on an extensive stakeholder engagement process with the Grand Portage Band, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and other federal and state regulatory agencies. With input from the Band, LHB also designed stream restorations to enhance two trout stream crossings, with custom seed mixes that are respectful to native vegetation.

The project is part of 195 entries this year representing engineering excellence from throughout the nation and the world. Judging for the awards program— known industry-wide as the “Academy Awards of the engineering industry”– took place in February and was conducted by a national 27-member panel of built environment leaders, along with experts from government, the media and academia. Award criteria focused on uniqueness and originality, technical innovation, social and economic value, and generating excitement for the engineering profession.

Recognition of all award winners including top winners— 20 Honor Awards, 16 Grand Awards and the prestigious “Grand Conceptor Award” for the year’s most outstanding overall engineering achievement—will take place during the 2022 EEA Gala, to be held in Grand Hyatt, Washington, DC, on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.

The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) is the business association of America’s engineering industry, representing more than 5,200 independent engineering firms and more than 600,000 professionals throughout the United States engaged in the development of America’s transportation, water and energy infrastructure, along with environmental, industrial and other public and private facilities. Founded in 1906 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., ACEC is a national federation of 52 state and regional organizations.