AEW Wins 3 Awards at ACEC/Michigan Gala
Posted on March 28, 2025
From left, Lou Krch (SAK Construction); Louis Urban, PE (AEW); and Keith Lumma (Macomb County Public Works Office) celebrate the Engineering Honorable Conceptor Award that went to the MCPWO’s Spiral Wound Sewer Lining Project.
Honorable Conceptor Award spotlights AEW’s innovative sewer lining project
Anderson, Eckstein & Westrick, Inc. emerged as a winner of multiple awards from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Michigan (ACEC/Michigan) at the council’s 2025 Engineering and Surveying Excellence Awards Gala. The recent ceremony was held March 8 at the Air Zoo Aerospace & Science Museum in Portage, Michigan.
AEW won the following awards at this year’s event:
- Engineering Honorable Conceptor Award: Spiral Wound Sewer Lining Project for the Macomb County Public Works Office
By using a Spiral Wound Lining to repair the Macomb Interceptor Drain Drainage District’s Garfield Interceptor, AEW became the first engineering firm in the state of Michigan to successfully incorporate this process into a project, according to ACEC/Michigan. - Engineering Merit Award: Pedestrian Bridge and Shared-Use Pathway for Clinton Township, Michigan
The project offers more nonmotorized access along Cass Avenue and connected nonmotorized trailways and amenities on both sides of the Clinton River. The Cass Avenue pedestrian bridge also has a protective barrier that shields walkers and cyclists from high-speed motor vehicle traffic. Additionally, the project now establishes a crucial connection between George George Memorial Park and the Clinton Township Civic Center campus. This new linkage enhances accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists, providing a safe and convenient route between these popular community destinations. The extended shared-use pathway fosters greater community connectivity and encourages outdoor recreation while improving overall mobility within Clinton Township. - Surveying Merit Award: 3D Scanning of Huntington Place for the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority
AEW’s Reality Capture services were used to create a spatially accurate “Digital Twin” of targeted areas in and around Huntington Place in Detroit. Scanners mapped streets, parking structures, and interior areas by capturing many millions of high-accuracy points to create a digital twin, which is a digital 3D model. The 3D model was applied to a surveyed network, providing a spatially accurate foundation to the digital twin. The surveyed network was used to incorporate other available digital information and will be the framework for future inclusion of additional digital information to continue the development of a complete digital twin of the entire facility.
As a result of winning an Honorable Conceptor Award for the sewer lining project, AEW may vie for an award at a future national ACEC competition.
Louis Urban, PE, was the sewer lining project’s manager at AEW. He said the Macomb County Public Works Office encouraged AEW to research products and contractors for the interceptor job. Urban explained that AEW ended up working with a contractor that knew how to use an SPR Spiral Wound PVC product that has been used in several other states.
Urban praised county officials and the contractor, SAK Construction, for their roles in the project.
“What should be highlighted is that the MCPWO took the risk of a new product and as a result saved the MIDDD money and reduced impact to the community,” Urban said. “The contractor SAK worked in live sanitary knee-high flow in a large-diameter sewer to construct the liner, not exactly ideal work conditions.”
ACEC/Michigan is a business association made up of over 100 engineering firms, and it organizes this gala to honor the achievements and ingenuity of professionals and their recent projects that demonstrate top engineering and surveying talent in the state.
In a statement, the group’s executive director, Ronald Brenke, PE, congratulated the winning firms.
“The infrastructure improvements engineered by ACEC member firms significantly improve the daily lives of Michigan residents and visitors,” Brenke said. “Their talent and expertise was on display at the Gala — so many innovative projects have been completed this past year.”
Learn more about ACEC/Michigan by visiting acecmi.org.
Scott Chabot, PE, center right, and Kevin Zauel, PE, right, display an award received at the American Council of Engineering Companies of Michigan’s 2025 Engineering and Surveying Excellence Awards Gala in Portage, Michigan, March 8.
Pictured from left to right are Executive Vice President and Director of Architecture Jason Arlow, AIA, LEED AP; Survey Senior Team Leader Michael Leonard; Survey Director Michael Truax, PS; and Principal Engineer Gordon Wilson, PE, CFM, EXW.