Posts

San Antonio River Authority’s Martinez IV Wastewater Treatment Plant Earns Envision Silver Award

9-September-2019

The Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) announced today that the Martinez IV Wastewater Treatment Plant in Saint Hedwig, Texas is the recent recipient of the Envision Silver award for sustainable infrastructure.

The Martinez IV Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) is a new facility built to accommodate the significant projected population growth of the surrounding communities. Without this facility, the increased raw sewage would need to be pumped and hauled by truck on a daily basis to other facilities for treatment, causing significant impacts to soil, watershed quality, air pollution, and carbon dioxide emissions.

Operated by the San Antonio River Authority (River Authority), the plant has a treatment capacity of 250,000 gallons per day (GPD) with potential to expand to two million gallons per day (MGD). The project consists of headworks, biological treatment, clarifiers, ultraviolet (UV) disinfection, and dewatering with final solids being composted. In addition, a new sanitary sewer collection line and associated lift station will connect new residential developments to the wastewater treatment plant. The collection line will consist of approximately 17,000 linear feet of gravity and force main and one lift station.

The River Authority worked in close collaboration with Freese and Nichols and MGC Contractors to deliver this award-winning sustainable project.

<a href=”http://sustainableinfrastructure.org/project-awards/martinez-iv-wastewater-treatment-plant/”>Learn more about this project.</a>

Port Authority of New York & New Jersey’s Bayonne Bridge Navigational Clearance Program Earns Envision Silver

16-July-2019

The Bayonne Bridge Navigational Clearance Program of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ or PA) is the most recent recipient of the Envision Silver award for sustainability.

The Port Authority worked in close collaboration with the design joint venture (HDR and Parsons Brinkerhoff/WSP, with AECOM as the sustainability consultant) and the construction joint venture (Skanska and Kiewit) to deliver this award-winning sustainable project.

The Bayonne Bridge is the fourth-longest steel arch bridge in the world and was the longest in the world at the time of its completion in 1931. This historic engineering landmark, designed by American-Swiss structural engineer (and former Port Authority Chief Engineer) Othmar H. Ammann, spans the Kill Van Kull tidal strait, the narrow water body that connects New York Harbor to four of the Port Authority’s five major container terminals.

Built prior to the era of containerized freight, the bridge was originally constructed 151 feet above water. As a result of the bridge’s limited height, in recent years shippers had been forced to use smaller, less-efficient and less environmentally-preferable ships to bring goods into the region.  To solve this problem, in 2010, the PANYNJ announced its decision preserve the Bayonne Bridge while raising its roadway deck to 215 feet to permit the passage of larger, more efficient vessels.

In addition to preserving a landmark structure, this project benefits the New York-New Jersey region in many ways. Critically, larger, more efficient ships calling on PA ports yields better air quality for the region.  The project also includes wider lanes, shoulders, and median dividers, which together make the bridge safer for drivers, and features a new bikeway and an ADA-compliant walkway.  The bridge was also designed not to preclude future mass transit service.

Learn more by visiting the PROJECT PAGE.

Saudi Aramco’s Ajyal Community Development Project is First in Middle East to Earn Envision Award

30-May-2019

Saudi Aramco’s Ajyal Community of Excellence project located in South Dhahran, Saudi Arabia is the first infrastructure project in the Middle East to earn an Envision award for sustainable infrastructure. This project is the recent recipient of the Envision Silver award—an award that signifies the project delivers a range of environmental, social, and economic benefits to the host and affected communities.

The Ajyal Community of Excellence project, known locally as the South Dhahran Home Ownership Program, includes site planning, selection, preparation, environmental monitoring; and design and construction of the infrastructure for the new Ajyal community.

The overall goals of the Ajyal Community Development project include:

  • Promoting a high quality of life by including pedestrian and bicycle paths, attractive landscaping, and public open spaces for residents;
  • Demonstrating leadership in environmental design by optimizing land use and balancing economic, social, and environmental considerations;
  • Smartly locating and constructing utilities and infrastructure to serve the needs of the community today, while also planning for future growth;
  • Creating opportunities for significant commercial and residential development in an area that was previously barren; and
  • Utilizing resources efficiently—including energy, water and materials—during construction and over the operational life of the project.

Saudi Aramco worked in close collaboration with Nesma & Partners, HOK and IBI to deliver this award-winning sustainable project.

Visit the PROJECT PAGE to learn more.

OC Streetcar

21-May-2019

The OC Streetcar project, managed by the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), recently earned an Envision Silver rating for sustainable infrastructure. This is the 15th Envision-verified project in the state, and the first modern streetcar project in California to receive Envision recognition.

The project helps OCTA and the cities of Santa Ana and Garden Grove reach their goals to increase transportation options and improve transit connectivity. The $407.7 million project, which is expected to begin operation in 2022, will operate along a 4.15-mile route that connects the bustling Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center (SARTC) — providing regional rail, OCTA bus, and intercity and international bus services — to a new multimodal hub at Harbor Boulevard/Westminster Avenue in Garden Grove.

Learn more about the project by visiting the PROJECT PAGE.