Wastewater Project Designed by Stanley Consultants Wins ENR Midwest Best Projects Award

The West Side Diversion Tunnel in Davenport, Iowa, has been
selected by Engineering News-Record (ENR) Midwest for a 2015 Award of Merit in the magazine’s annual Best Projects competition. The project, designed by Stanley Consultants, was recognized in the Water / Environment category.

The $42 million West Side Diversion Tunnel, a 3.1 mile sanitary sewer line, runs from near the Mississippi River through Davenport to undeveloped areas in the northwest part of the city. With a population of 102,000 residents, it is Davenport’s biggest public works project in years, and has been called the city’s most significant long-term economic development project.

The additional sewer capacity created by the project alleviates stress on the aging sewer system and reduces backups during heavy rains. It also opens up thousands of acres for new industrial and commercial
development.

The project was constructed in three phases over the course of several years and included construction of a 1.4mile-long-tunnel that ranged in depth from 40 to 140 feet. Tunneling is rarely used on Iowa sewer projects but the technology was cost effective when installing the sewer line through Davenport’s ridges and drainage valley topography. It has been described as one of the most complicated and technically difficult public works endeavors that the City of Davenport has ever undertaken.

Stanley Consultants provided master planning, design, and construction phase services for the project, which was funded through a combination of grants and money from the city sewer fund. The project was completed on schedule and $9 million under budget.

From scores of entries, a panel of industry professionals selected winning projects on the basis of quality, innovation, safety, contributions to the surrounding community and the ability of the project teams to overcome unique challenges. In all, projects were honored in categories ranging from airport/transit, health care and higher education to highways, interior design and offices.

The West Side Diversion Tunnel has also received a National Honor Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies; the Grand Conceptor Award for the American Council of Engineering Companies of Iowa; a Water &Wastes Digest Top Projects Award; and Outstanding Civil Engineering Project Achievement (OCEA) from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Iowa Section.

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