Project of the Year - Environmental

Springfield Gardens Industrial Park

Plaudits for the Springfield Gardens Industrial Park project came because the end product was a creative solution to a decades-long drainage problem that had wreaked havoc on a busy network of intersecting streets in Queens. But they also came because of the attention the project team gave to minimizing construction impact in the heavily trafficked area.

It was clear that the Springfield Gardens area of Queens needed more than a storm drainage system. It needed a full infrastructure facelift. The poor state of curbs, sidewalks, and roadways had exacerbated the drainage problem, while equally deteriorated water mains had affected the quality and reliability of the area's water.

The deteriorated state of the area led the New York City Department of Environmental Protection to adopt a big-picture solution that included installation of a new storm-sewer system and the creation of two acres of tidal wetlands. It also commissioned water-main replacement and full street reconstruction.

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"It's an environmental project that provides extraordinary relief to the residents in the area," said one juror.

The $31 million project also earned kudos from the jurors because of its attention to the needs of the community during the construction period. The industrial park included approximately 50 blocks of warehouses, businesses, and food operations, many to service neighboring John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Trying to minimize the neighborhood impact was harder because the required level of street disruption was significant. The job called for deep excavation, sheeting, and dewatering in order to install and construct a sewer network of trunk lines and piping. In the end, the project team laid more than 19,000 lin. ft. of new ductile iron-restrained joint water mains as well as over 9,000 lin. ft. of new sanitary sewers.

To keep the area open for business while carrying out the street program, the project team implemented an extensive community outreach effort that included compiling a list of every company doing business in the area. The team shaped construction sequencing around the basic premise that business owners would have access to their operations at all times. "We were doing little hopscotches all over the place trying to keep everyone in business," said Tom Donnelly, vice president of New York-based Daniel Frankfurt, PC, which was the resident engineer for the project.

A main culprit for the drainage problem was the area's high water table, which is only 5 to 6 ft. below the surface. In order to complete the in-ground work, the contractor, EIC Associates, had to install deep well pumps that ran around the clock and kept the construction area dry while crews were laying the pipes.

To provide a long-term solution to the drainage problem, however, the team had to find a place for the water to go during wet periods. During rainy spells, it was common to have a 3-ft. deep pool of water settling in the area, because it had no outlet.

That's where the project design called for creating tidal wetlands out of an upland area. The project team dug a stream bed from the industrial park to the tidal area, providing the long-absent capacity for stormwater runoff - giving the water somewhere to go. The jury cited the ability to accommodate such diverse goals as a prime reason for honoring the project.

"They didn't have as much space to work with when putting in these improvements," a judge said. "This is an extraordinary project."