Stantec earns state honors for Lake Elizabeth stream restoration

Stantec, a global design and engineering firm, has earned a top engineering award for its flood recovery work supporting the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) through the Lake Elizabeth dam removal and stream restoration project in Blythewood, South Carolina. The project team was recognized by the American Council of Engineering Companies of South Carolina (ACEC-SC) in the environmental category as part of its annual Engineering Excellence Awards program.

When unprecedented flooding from Hurricanes Joaquin (2015) and Matthew (2016) caused the dam under US 21 at Lake Elizabeth to collapse, the busy highway began to crumble under overtopping flows. As a result, further use was restricted, fueling headaches and hazards for the local community.

While SCDOT’s primary objective was to repair and reopen this bridge crossing, it was also a priority to rebuild using environmentally sensitive roadway water management techniques and design methodologies that support improved resilience. Stantec worked with SCDOT, numerous agencies, and stakeholder groups to develop a creative hybrid design incorporating conventional bridge scour and natural channel design techniques to restore the stream, creeks, and wetlands that had been inundated.

As part of its scope of work, Stantec provided permitting and design for the project. Through this hybrid method, the firm employed a stream mechanics-based natural channel design in conjunction with specialized applied hydraulic conveyance modeling, and bridge scour protection design to help quickly repair and re-open this hurricane-damaged infrastructure.

“The result of this project is not only a safe highway, but also a restored ecosystem that will improve water quality to the receiving Broad River while maintaining flood storage and recreational value for the community,” said Stantec’s Josh Gilman, PE, who managed the restoration design.

Since 1986, ACEC-SC engineering firms have entered their most innovative projects and studies in ACEC-SC’s annual Engineering Excellence Awards. The program honors the year’s most outstanding engineering accomplishments across a range of categories including studies, research, and consulting engineering services; building/technology systems; structural systems; surveying and mapping technology; environmental; waste and storm water; water resources; transportation; special projects; small projects; energy; and industrial and manufacturing processes and facilities. Projects across the state are rated on uniqueness and innovative applications; future value to the engineering profession; perception by the public; social, economic, and sustainable development considerations; complexity; and successful fulfillment of client/owner’s needs.

About Stantec
Communities are fundamental. Whether around the corner or across the globe, they provide a foundation, a sense of place and of belonging. That's why at Stantec, we always design with community in mind.

We're designers, engineers, scientists, and project managers, innovating together at the intersection of community, creativity, and client relationships. Balancing these priorities results in projects that advance the quality of life in communities across the globe.

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Maggie Meluzio
Stantec Media Relations
Ph: (617) 654-6037
maggie.meluzio@stantec.com