Gresham, Smith And Partners Wins Honor Award At 2008 Engineering Excellence Awards

Nashville, TN - Gresham, Smith and Partners, a leading national architecture, engineering and interior design firm, proudly announced it received the 2008 Honor Award for Engineering Excellence in Transportation from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Tennessee. Recognized with the premier honor within the transportation category, GS&P's work on the McEwen Interchange in Franklin, Tenn. was conducted in partnership with the City of Franklin and the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

Commercial and residential growth along the Interstate 65 corridor through Cool Springs in Franklin created an urgent need for an additional east/west collector road to improve mobility and connectivity across I-65 as well as the roadway network of Mallory Lane and Carothers Parkway. The McEwen Interchange, a single point urban interchange (SPUI) with numerous aesthetic design features, was designed to minimize impact on existing buildings and properties while efficiently meeting the future demands of vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists.

"We are thrilled our work on the McEwen Interchange has received this industry recognition," stated Everett Cowan, president and chief operating officer, Gresham, Smith and Partners. "GS&P's team of transportation engineers worked hand-in-hand with the City of Franklin and TDOT to ensure our context-sensitive design would result in improved mobility and livability in this section of Franklin while also delivering a safe and aesthetically pleasing product."

Aesthetic enhancement features such as enhanced pedestrian plazas, pedestrian and driver-friendly decorative railings, landscaped islands, stone veneers, capstones, and historic signing and lighting were carefully incorporated into the project to define this new interchange as a recognizable gateway to the City of Franklin.

The American Council of Engineering Companies' annual Engineering Excellence Awards competition recognizes engineering firms for projects that demonstrate a high degree of achievement, value and ingenuity. For 18 consecutive years, ACEC of Tennessee has recognized the most innovative projects and studies performed by Tennessee firms.

SOURCE: Gresham, Smith and Partners