The American Council of Engineering Companies earlier this month gave its top award — the Grand Conceptor — to McMillen, a full-service firm based in Boise, Idaho, for its work on the Klamath River Renewal Project during the annual Engineering Excellence Awards gala in Washington, D.C. The project was an ACEC Oregon Grand Award winner earlier this year.

The world’s largest dam removal project resulted in successful restoration of more than 400 miles of habitat along the Klamath River; salmon returned to tributaries inaccessible for over a century. Four hydroelectric dams — JC Boyle, Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2, and Iron Gate — had blocked the former third-largest salmon-producing river system on the West Coast. The $504 million project was completed on time and within budget.

Within months of the final dam being removed, Chinook, Coho and Pacific Lamprey began returning in numbers not seen for generations. On Sept. 24, 2025, a Chinook salmon passed through the fish ladder at Keno Dam in southern Oregon, marking the farthest upstream salmon had reached since the dams were constructed, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The project’s complexity required coordination between two states, multiple tribes, federal agencies, and numerous conservation and fishing organizations. McMillen served as owner’s representative for Klamath River Renewal Corp., the nonprofit created specifically to execute the project. The Yurok, Karuk, Hoopa, Shasta, Klamath and Modoc tribes led the effort. Kiewit was the general contractor.

McMillen, in its ACEC Oregon award submission, noted that one significant challenge involved managing 5 million cubic yards of sediment. Engineers used advanced hydraulic modeling to optimize river bypass systems at each dam and developed mechanical assistance measures to enhance sediment movement downstream. The team analyzed potential effects on the estuary and Crescent City Harbor to balance environmental protection with regulatory compliance.

McMillen’s risk analysis also led to revised dam removal sequencing. Initially, two dams were scheduled for concurrent removal, but engineers recommended removing one dam during the pre-drawdown period and the second during reservoir drawdown, reducing complexity and minimizing risk.

Judging for the ACEC awards program took place in February and was conducted by a national panel of 32 built environment leaders, along with experts from government, media, and academia. Award criteria focused on uniqueness and originality, technical innovation, social and economic value, and excitement generated toward the engineering profession.

Founded in 1906, ACEC represents more than 5,500 independent engineering firms and more than 650,000 professionals in 51 state and regional organizations.

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A new 7.3-acre park along the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington, was named Project of the Year at the American Council of Engineering Companies of Oregon‘s 2019 Engineering Excellence Awards last week.

The $24.2 million Vancouver Waterfront Park provides public access to the river on the site of a former paper mill and features a waterfront trail, a playground and urban beach, open lawn areas and scenic viewpoints. The project’s centerpiece is the Grant Street Pier, a cable-stayed structure that cantilevers over the water and is designed to evoke the shape of a ship. The 100-foot-long pier provides visitors with a connection to the shoreline on a portion of the river known for swift currents and high waves. The project was also honored with a People’s Choice Award from Engineering Excellence Awards dinner attendees.

The park project was submitted by BergerABAM, the prime consultant, project manager, landscape architect and structural engineer; GRI, the project’s geotechnical engineer; Martin/Martin Consulting Engineers, which performed structural engineering on the pier superstructure; and PBS Engineering and Environmental, the civil engineer.

Otak Inc. won the Best in Category award for its work on the Lommen Bridge over the Nehalem River for owner Tillamook County Public Works. The bridge serves as a detour for U.S. Route 101, which is often closed because of storm damage, but was structurally deficient and rated as the second-most hazardous bridge in Oregon. The $9.86 million replacement is a three-span structure with a 300-foot center span and 125-foot end spans. In-water piers were removed to avoid debris impacts, and seismic liquefaction issues were eliminated via use of drilled shafts measuring 9 feet in diameter and extending 100 feet into the bedrock. Traffic was maintained during construction of the project, which was completed for $200,000 less than the budget.

The Small Project Award went to the team behind an effort to restore habitat for threatened fish species at two sites along the Sandy River in eastern Multnomah County. The Portland Water Bureau’s $1.86 million Sandy River Engineered Log Jams project created side channels for salmon and steelhead to rest and feed using placed logs, boulders and debris. The project restores and enhances stream, floodplain and riparian habitats and works with the natural dynamics of the river to preserve connectivity while allowing for natural changes in channels. Submitting firms include lead consultant Wolf Water Resources, modeling and engineered log jams designer Natural Systems Design, and contractor Biohabitat.

Three firms received Grand awards for their work on four projects. Kennedy/Jenks Consultants received one for Phase II of upgrades to a wastewater treatment plant in The Dalles. Anderson Perry & Associates was honored for designing a passage for migratory fish to bypass a 30-foot-high dam on Beaver Creek in La Grande. HDR took home two awards – one for the West Vancouver Freight Access rail hub project at the Port of Vancouver USA, and another for creation of a streetscape in McMinnville that turned 75 acres of land into the state’s largest shared-use roadway and redevelopment.

Honor awards were bestowed upon an additional 20 projects.

The winners were selected by a panel of judges that included Chris Monsere, professor and chairman of civil and environmental engineering at Portland State University; Mike Bisset, community development director for the city of McMinnville; Bill Beyer, advertising director for the Daily Journal of Commerce; Pete Chaput, chief of the river and hydrologic engineering section with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Portland District, and Gayle Harley, a retired engineer and past president of ACEC Oregon.

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A wetlands system project that saved the city of Prineville tens of millions of dollars took top honors Wednesday night at the 2018 Engineering Excellence Awards event hosted by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Oregon.

In winning the Project of the Year title, the Crooked River Wetlands project, submitted by Anderson Perry & Associates and the city of Prineville, also claimed the right to advance to the ACEC Engineering Excellence national awards competition.

Judges for the local competition gave the wetlands project high marks for providing both an affordable solution that protects the environment and the community with valuable lessons in conservation and stewardship.

The project was the result of a population boom in Prineville that severely taxed the city’s existing wastewater treatment system. Rather than invest $62 million in construction of a traditional mechanical facility, the city approached Anderson Perry & Associates to identify alternatives. The firm’s team designed a series of wetland cells that treat wastewater before releasing it back into the environment. The wetlands area, which ended up costing approximately $8 million, includes walking paths and pavilions as well as informational kiosks created by local schoolchildren.

Parametrix scored two wins during the Wednesday evening event. The company earned the award for Best Small Project for its work on the Deschutes River Trail Boardwalk, a collaborative project with Oregon Parks and Recreation Department staff. The company also stepped forward with Kittelson & Associates to claim a Best in Category award for their respective work on the U.S. 20 Barclay Roundabout for the Oregon Department of Transportation.

KPFF and GRI scored a Best in Category award for their combined work on the Cultural Crossing, an expansion project at the Portland Japanese Garden.

Five firms received Grand awards for work on four projects. Nishkian Dean received one for its work on the commercial crew tower capability project at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. PAE‘s Grand award resulted from its work on the Oregon Zoo Education Center. Shannon & Wilson and HBH Consulting Engineers teamed up for their award-winning Southern Flow Corridor project for the Port of Tillamook Bay and Tillamook County. OBEC Consulting Engineers received its Grand award for work on the Peter Courtney Minto Island Bridge for the city of Salem.

Sixteen other projects received Honor awards.

The awards were selected by a jury of building industry professionals that included Mark Kennedy, associate dean and professor of civil engineering in the Donald P. Shiley School of Engineering at the University of Portland; Tova Peltz, region 1 geo-environmental unit manager for the Oregon Department of Transportation; Nick Bjork, publisher of the Daily Journal of Commerce; Mark Hanson, chief of the structural and architectural design section of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Portland District; and Ermel Quevedo, a past president of ACEC Oregon.

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One of the most expensive and intensive transportation projects in Portland in recent memory was honored by the American Council of Engineering Companies’ Oregon chapter on Wednesday. The organization named the Sellwood Bridge replacement, as submitted by T.Y. Lin International Group, its project of the year for 2016 during its annual awards ceremony.

“It is a great honor anytime you spend all the years we have spent on this,” said David Goodyear, chief bridge engineer for T.Y. Lin International. “It’s what we work for: a happy client and recognition for the works we do.”

T.Y. Lin International served as the lead architect for the nearly $320 million project – the costliest for Multnomah County at the time it moved forward. The firm also served as the lead structural engineer responsible for bridge design alternatives, and as the engineer of record for the replacement bridge. In addition, T.Y. Lin International oversaw bridge, roadway, architectural, electrical, environmental permitting, geotechnical and landslide stabilization design teams. The firm also led the quality control program for the bridge, which opened to traffic in February 2016.

“The project was unique,” Goodyear said of the Sellwood Bridge replacement. “The size doesn’t always mean the most complex. The logistics of this project were challenging. Being able to put together this project from the multiple stakeholders was a big accomplishment.”

Engineers had to figure out how to replace a 1,971-foot-long bridge that spanned the Willamette River. The original 1925 bridge was deemed unsafe when cracks were discovered in January 2004.

The challenges began almost the minute the project did. The team committed to building the new bridge in almost the exact same spot as the original. That meant moving the old bridge 33 feet at the east end and 66 feet on the west end so that it could continue to serve traffic.

“We moved the old bridge over, so it was a challenge,” said Ian Cannon, Multnomah County engineer and transportation director. “Then, after that, we had to build the new bridge with the west end in an active slide area.”

The design team settled on a replacement that stretches 1,976 feet, includes three steel arches supporting a 64-foot-wide deck, two vehicle lanes, two sidewalks and two bike lanes. The project also required modernization of Oregon Route 43 and stabilization of the hillside to the west and above the bridge and highway. The hillside’s slow slide into the river was one of the key reasons the original bridge deteriorated in the first place.

“There were a lot of geotechnical landslide specialists that worked with us,” Goodyear said.

A foundation was designed that would support the deck arch against the hillside. The design team used 3-D modeling to develop a way to anchor a shear pile that included boring 40 six-foot-diameter shafts vertically to depths of 56 to 88 feet. Then they used 70 pre-stressed ground anchors drilled diagonally to depths of 85 to 110 feet into bedrock. The system interacts with the 10-foot-diameter drilled shafts of the arch foundations to counteract further movement.

In addition, seismic goals had to be met. The new bridge needed to be designed to endure a magnitude 9 Cascadia subduction zone earthquake.

T.Y. Lin International has a long history of designing bridges in seismically active regions. The company was the design engineer for the Tilikum Crossing. It also was a lead designer for the new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as well as multiple bridges in Southern California.

“Building bridges in seismically active areas is kind of our stock and trade,” Goodyear said. “We do a lot of bridges on the West Coast.”

Goals for seismic strength impacted every decision made about construction of the new bridge.

“It controlled how we developed foundation design,” Goodyear said. “The types of foundations we used were selected for their robustness. It governed where the bearings went and were fixed to the foundations.”

Usually a flat horizontal surface is sought for bridges, but that wasn’t possible for the Sellwood Bridge. The bridge’s course takes it uphill. That means the arch spans could not be in balance geometrically. It affected the differential thrust across the interior piers.

“If you look at the arches, the one on the west is smaller,” Goodyear said. “As you ascend the slope, you have different tensions. You have to design it so the thrust on the right and left have to be balanced.”

Another priority for the project team was ensuring that river navigation would be uninterrupted, even during construction. That required not just engineering skill, but coordination.

“The coordination of all the pieces of work that went on was great,” Cannon said. “Working around the different partner agencies was a challenge. We had to work with Portland Parks, the (Oregon Department of Transportation) and others.”

Also, sensitivity to environmental concerns limited when construction could take place.

“Anytime you are working in the water, things are tough,” Goodyear said. “There are environmental limitations. In terms of design we try to minimize the impacts of the foundation we are putting in the water.”

Concrete pours were a tall order. Some 8,200 cubic yards of concrete were used for the bridge’s four immense foundations. Completion of one such foundation required 24 hours. Also, a cooling system had to be devised so that the concrete would not overheat.

Ted Aadland, area manager for Sundt Construction, which oversaw physical construction of the new bridge, said it was the kind of challenge that builders and designers look for.

“We had big piers in the middle of the river,” he said. “There was a limit in pile driving and the amount we can drive. The designers were working on the longest spans they could. That brings a little more flavor to the job and it makes it a little more fun.”

Aadland said he expects the project to become a career highlight for everyone associated with it.

“It’s an iconic job,” he said. “It’s a great looking structure. It’s one I think everybody who worked on it will remember forever.”

2017 ACEC Oregon Engineering Excellence Awards

T.Y. Lin International won the top honor from the American Council of Engineering Companies’ Oregon chapter during its awards dinner Wednesday night, for the Sellwood Bridge replacement project. However, many other companies were recognized. They include:

Best in emergency and water resources

GeoEngineers Inc.: Sanpoil SR21 emergency spill response for Able Clean-up Technologies Inc. / CHS Inc.

Best in transportation

OBEC Consulting Engineers: Sunrise Expressway for Oregon Department of Transportation

Grand awards

Aspect Consulting LLC: Port Angeles landfill stabilization for city of Port Angeles

Cascade Earth Sciences: Monte Cristo Mining Area removal action for U.S. Forest Service

Cornforth Consultants Inc.: US 20 – Pioneer Mountain to Eddyville for Oregon Department of Transportation

Harper Houf Peterson Righellis: Hassalo on Eighth for GBD Architects

Hart Crowser Inc.: Forest Park low tank for Portland Water Bureau

HDR: Bridge Creek Water Supply and Treatment Plant for city of Bend

Shannon & Wilson Inc.: Ridgewood View Park Reservoir and Pump Station for Tualatin Valley Water District

Small project

Otak: Rockinghorse Lane drainage improvement for city of Lake Oswego

Judges’ choice

Kittelson & Associates Inc.: Oregon Avenue protected bike lane for Sky Lakes Wellness Center

Honor awards

AECOM: Light rail transit efficiency projects for Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority

Akana: Tsaile Dam rehabilitation for U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs

AKS Engineering & Forestry: Columbia Street regional stormwater facility for city of Sherwood; and Evergreen Drive improvements for city of North Bonneville

Century West Engineering: Redmond Municipal Airport runway 4-22 rehabilitation for city of Redmond – Redmond Municipal Airport

GHD: Harriett powerhouse for Portland General Electric

Harper Houf Peterson Righellis: Daimler North America headquarters for Ankrom Moisan Architects; and Monterey Avenue extension for Clackamas County Development Agency

Integral Consulting Inc.: EVRAZ Oregon Steel riverbank stabilization

Otak: Tenny Creek emergency repair for Clark Regional Wastewater District

Parametrix: Powell Butte Highway roundabout for Deschutes County

PBS Engineering & Environmental: Sixth and Norwood intersection roundabout for city of Camas, Washington; and Vancouver waterfront transportation improvements for city of Vancouver, Washington

WHPacific: Oregon Route 99W – Gaarde McDonald intersection improvements for Oregon Department of Transportation and city of Tigard

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