Congratulations to the 2022 TQI Award Recipients

Partnering Award

I-83 Shrewsbury Exit

Partners:
PennDOT District 8-0, Erdman Anthony, Kinsley Construction, Inc., Gannett Fleming, Inc.

The I-83 Shrewsbury Exit project consisted of improving and re-configuring the I-83 Exit 4 Interchange into a diverging diamond interchange (DDI) in Shrewsbury Borough, Shrewsbury Township, and Hopewell Township. The design solution was selected to alleviate congestion within the existing interchange, improve efficiency, and increase safety by bringing the surrounding features up to current standards.

A formal partnering meeting started the process with numerous stakeholders in attendance. The group identified common goals of wanting to build a safe, quality project, as well as understand there may be fundamental differences in how to go about achieving those goals. Collectively, the group developed a partnering charter to summarize their vision and mission statement. The group also identified potential schedule impacts as being one of the biggest items of concern, specifically, utility relocation efforts.

Routine partnering meetings were conducted throughout construction to provide a vehicle to maintain lines of communication, define concerns, and collectively work on resolving issues. Communication with stakeholders was a key to the project’s success, to include local entities, utility owners, regulating agencies, and the traveling public. The project team was able to successfully navigate numerous environmental challenges and maintain effective relationships with the associated agencies. Kinsley and the Department worked together to mitigate a significant utility delay, address impacts from a COVID-19 work suspension, and resolve numerous field issues. Despite setbacks, all concerns were resolved at the field level to the satisfaction of all involved parties, with zero claims or further arbitration required.

PARTNERING AWARD

PTC Southern Beltway SR0576 Section 55C2-1

Partners:
PA Turnpike Commission, Walsh Construction Company, CDR Maguire, ms consultants, inc.

Section 55C2-1 of the current 13-mile segment under construction is the Southern Beltway interchange with I-79, a key element of the toll road, and the last piece of the puzzle to complete a direct 19-mile link from Interstate 79 and points south from the Pittsburgh International airport. It’s also the most
challenging and complex section.

Section 55C2-1 is a $180 million project which consists of a full Interchange between I-79 and Toll Road 576 (Southern Beltway), including a half Interchange with Morganza Road. In addition to 2 miles of new eastbound and westbound mainline highway, the construction includes 9 new ramps totaling 7.5 miles in length, and a bi-directional third lane widening of 3.5 miles of Interstate 79 within the existing median.

A moderated kick-off meeting with a signed charter set the stage for partnering through the duration of the project. Throughout the project the team followed a structured approach to resolve issues and work together to support each other’s goals. Project offices were co-located to foster continued communications while weekly, informal partnering meetings at the project level continued. These efforts proved to be effective tools to build trust and promote a mutually open forum to work through issues together. The parties continue to partner at all levels to close out the project, and agree that to use the lessons of open communication, escalation of issues and partnering culture on the future projects, as well.

Community Connection & Enhancement Award

67185 Freedom Road Turnpike Bridge

Partners:
PennDOT District 10-0, PA Turnpike Commission, Cranberry Township

The 67185 Freedom Road Turnpike Bridge project was the replacement and widening of the bridge over the PA Turnpike on SR 3020 in Cranberry Township. The project added a shared use path for pedestrians and bicyclists to both sides of the bridge where previously there were no facilities for either. This safety enhancement provides for the potential of opening a gateway to future expansions of trails and community connections along this corridor for Cranberry Township.

The project also expanded roadway capacity from a three-lane configuration to six lanes with expanded interconnected signal systems to address congestion in the area. Additionally, the widening of the structure provided for future expansion of the PA Turnpike.

Cranberry Township provided community input to the project through design and construction to connect to their pedestrian and bicycle facilities in the community.

Community Connection & Enhancement Award

The I-579 Urban Open Space Cap

Partners:
HDR, Fay, S&B USA Construction, PennDOT District 11-0

The I-579 Urban Open Space “Cap” Project is a new three-acre green space bridging over the interstate. This first-of-its-kind project seeks to remedy historical development that harmed the Hill District by reconnecting this predominantly African American neighborhood to the resources and opportunities of Downtown Pittsburgh. The Hill was separated from Downtown in the 1950s when entire blocks of homes and businesses were demolished for “urban renewal” and I-579 was built, creating a concrete canyon of tall retaining walls and noisy interstate traffic.

Community connection was the central goal of this project to bridge this canyon, so a robust community listening and interactive design process was utilized to obtain input from residents of the Hill. This process led to integrated art-like seat drums and chimes created by local artists, bike pathways, and green infrastructure that enables stormwater capture through educational rain gardens.

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION AWARD

Urban Engineers, Inc.

Three focus areas in which Urban has excelled in diversity and inclusion include:

Recruiting Strategies – Urban is not only committed to providing equal employment opportunities, but being a consciously diverse employer. The firm has actively taken steps to attract more diverse talent by participating in job fairs at historically black colleges and universities, increased prescense at veterans’ career fairs and outreach to minority- and women-focused publications.

Corporate Awareness and Training – Urban has conducted diversity and inclusion focused internal training, which has been required for all managers, as well as many networking, mentoring, and topic sessions for the Urban Women’s Professional Network and the Urban Younger Member’s Forum.

Community Outreach – Outreach is led by Urban’s talented and dedicated staff who volunteer their time to many organizations that promote the A/E/C industry and service minority communities. Specifically, organizations Urban has been involved with that support their D&I initiatives include the ACE Mentor Program, the Spark Program, and Philadelphia’s WorkReady program. By supporting programs that promote STEM, they help increase the diversity in our industry.

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION AWARD

The Women’s Network
PA Turnpike Commission

The PTC Women’s Network is a voluntary, employee-led resource group that fosters a diverse, inclusive workplace aligned with the PTC Strategic mission, vision, and goals. Its objective is to enrich the development of women in their professional careers by providing opportunities to connect, mobilize, network, and participate in mentoring activities while supporting work-life balance.

During the pandemic, the network served as a catalyst in reaching out to employees who were struggling with the effects of pandemic-related losses, connection and familiarity with daily work routines and interpersonal relationships.

The network launched a “Coffee Connection” session that was offered to all employees on the topic of “Teleworking and You!” with 197 employees virtually logging in. As of January 2022, the network has continued to deliver the weekly Coffee Connection Series for a period of 94 weeks, delivering 101 individual sessions and generating over 10,232 individual active employee log-ins. Topics included but were not limited to social and racial justice, mental health, bouncing back from burnout and much more.

Additionally, in March 2021, a women’s conference was offered to all employees with sessions as early as 6:30am and as late as 9:00pm with topics including leading through disruption, engagement through community involvement, building an inclusive and respectful culture, and more.

The network has consistently met the daily/weekly changing needs of their employees on a personal and professional level and has created an inclusive space for employees to learn, grow and thrive.