KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Three projects supported by Burns & McDonnell earned National Recognition Awards from the American Council of Engineering Companies, recognizing preeminent engineering work.

The awards, presented during the organization’s Engineering Excellence Awards Gala on June 13 in Washington, D.C., honor projects demonstrating exceptional engineering excellence at the national level.

Among those honored:

• Miami International Airport’s South/Central Terminal Baggage Handling Program, for which Burns & McDonnell served as the primary architecture and engineering firm on work that doubled the speed and efficiency of baggage handling at MIA.
• Moosa Creek Riparian Restoration Project, where Burns & McDonnell worked with Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Camp Pendleton and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in California to restore an out-of-use golf course to its natural habitat, creating a protected natural riparian habitat.
• Key Crossing Reliability Initiative for Baltimore Gas and Electric, with Burns & McDonnell serving as program manager on replacing transmission lines parallel to the Francis Scott Key Bridge, crossing the Patapsco River at the southwestern edge of Baltimore.

“As a 100% employee-owned firm, we approach every project with the heart and dedication of an owner,” says Ray Kowalik, chairman and CEO of Burns & McDonnell. “Our responsiveness to our clients and their critical projects never falters. We’re relentless in our dedication and proud of the work being recognized by ACEC.”

Additional details for each project:

• Miami International Airport’s South/Central Terminal Baggage Handling Program. Work included a new control room, state‐of‐the‐art checked baggage inspection system (CBIS), and mobile inspection tables (MITs). Upgraded technology served as the foundation of the project. The new, $324 million system encompasses a new 70,000‐square‐foot building containing 12 explosives detection system machines, 102 MITs and more than 9 miles of conveyor belts designed to transport baggage from ticket counters to the inspection building and onto aircraft makeup units. The new, modernized system — centralized in an enclosed space — is kept safe from external weather‐related factors and provides staffing efficiencies, increased equipment availability and extended life span. The improvements were spread over 400,000 square feet of the airport, introducing baggage within the South and Central Terminals across more than 300 ticket counters. Together, these improvements are contributing to an improved, more efficient passenger experience at MIA.
• Moosa Creek Riparian Restoration With MCAS Camp Pendleton and USFWS. The project supported overall environmental and flight safety improvements at MCAS Camp Pendleton. The base partnered with Burns & McDonnell to assist with meeting threatened and endangered species regulatory requirements. The project included surveying suitable properties within the ecoregion and preparing ecological restoration analyses of each. Upon USFWS approval of the selected site, Burns & McDonnell engineered and permitted the restoration concept and completed restoration construction. Burns & McDonnell worked with San Diego County Flood, Planning and Grading departments for land use and engineering approvals. The restoration of the approximately 67-acre site benefited two bird species listed under the Endangered Species Act. The project improved an existing flood plain, creating a mosaic of natural habitats for multiple species. It also extended the habitat corridor of adjacent water bodies and improved local water quality and ecosystems.
• Key Crossing Reliability Initiative. The project involved installation of high-voltage transmission lines crossing a section of river more than 2 miles wide. The eight steel towers installed included five in the river — with two reaching 397 feet above the water, making them the tallest transmission monopoles in North America. The work involved extensive coordination among designers, contractors and stakeholders to address environmental regulations, shipping lane schedules and more.

About Burns & McDonnell

Burns & McDonnell is a family of companies bringing together an unmatched team of more than 13,500 engineers, construction and craft professionals, architects, planners, technologists and scientists to design and build our critical infrastructure. With an integrated construction and design mindset, we offer full-service capabilities. Founded in 1898 and working from 70 offices globally, Burns & McDonnell is 100% employee-owned. Learn how we are designed to build.