From coast to coast and communities in between, our work continues to be recognized for delivering safe, high-quality, innovative solutions for complex projects spanning multiple industries.
Engineering News-Record (ENR) recently honored Michels with five awards, including two Regional Best Projects. Our contributions represent an array of expertise on important projects across the United States:
Regional Best Project: Northwest
Portland UG Network Willamette River Crossing
Michels completed two parallel horizontal directional drills (HDD) beneath the Willamette River in Portland, OR as part of the EPA Harbor Superfund Mile 11 Cleanup initiative. We installed carrier pipe for housing conduit to replace electric circuits originally laid on the riverbed. Michels and AECOM developed an innovative solution to advance large-diameter casing—the longest installation of non-welded casing anywhere in the world.
See the Willamette River Crossing project profile.
Regional Best Project: Mid-Atlantic
Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW)
We used two trenchless methodologies to construct landfalls and trenchless crossings of environmentally sensitive areas to provide electrical conduits for a 2.6-gigawatt wind farm 24 nautical miles off the Virginia coast. Direct Pipe® was used for the nine landfall locations, and 10 HDDs were performed under Lake Rudee and Lake Christine to provide clean, renewable energy to power up to 660,000 homes.
Award of Merit: New England
Goose Pond Dam Improvement Project
Our rehab work on Goose Pond Dam protected critical infrastructure, key roadways, and downstream New Hampshire communities by addressing severe seepage and structural issues. We rebuilt the downstream slope for stability, installed relief wells and an underdrain system, replaced the wooden gates with custom-fabricated stainless-steel slide gates, reconstructed the concrete spillway, and fabricated toe drainage pipe on-site.
See the Goose Dam project profile.
Award of Merit: Midwest
Illinois Beach State Park Shoreline Rehabilitation
Michels built 24 offshore breakwaters to preserve the last remaining natural shoreline of Lake Michigan in Illinois. Our design, which required 750,000 tons of sand and 320,000 tons of stone, guides and directs sand to prevent erosion. The project also provided marine life with eco-block habitats and 10 tern nests to promote a robust population of the local seabirds.
See the Illinois Beach State Park project profile.
Award of Merit: California
Birds Landing 230-kV Transmission Line Upgrade
As part of the 1.5-mile Birds Landing 230-kV Transmission Line Upgrade project in Rio Vista, CA, our crews prepared the site, installed new tower foundations, pulled conductor and static wires into place, installed a temporary bridge, and built four lattice steel towers—before taking down four of the old ones. The two towers closest to the Sacramento River, at 550 feet in height, are among the tallest power structures west of the Mississippi River.
See the Birds Landing project profile.
We are proud of the exceptional work of our people and project partners. Congratulations!
