Kleinfelder Receives 2022 ACEC MA Grand Conceptor Award
Photo credit: Frank Monkiewicz
Kleinfelder Project Manager Kate Goyette accepts the award at the gala in June.
BOSTON, Massachusetts – The Port Flooding Resiliency Project: Parking Lot No. 6 Stormwater Tank received the Grand Conceptor Award at the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of Massachusetts annual Engineering Excellence and Awards Gala. The project was designed by Kleinfelder, with support from Stantec, for the City of Cambridge Department of Public Works.
The City of Cambridge’s Port neighborhood was experiencing significant flooding and sewer backups exacerbated by climate change. Working closely with the City, Kleinfelder designed a 390,000-gallon, 119-foot-by-36-foot cast-in-place underground stormwater tank, located in the City-owned Parking Lot No. 6, to capture stormwater in The Port neighborhood and redirect it from Massachusetts Water Resources Authority’s overburdened combined sewer system to the Charles River via an existing storm drain in Massachusetts Avenue.
Connecting the Parking Lot No. 6 stormwater tank to the Massachusetts Avenue storm drain required microtunneling 200 feet of 72-inch steel casing pipe, carrying four force mains, within feet of the active Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Red Line subway – a complex connection that required extensive coordination efforts during design and construction. Additional coordination with private developers was also necessary due to concurrent construction of a multi-story mixed-use tower and residential building adjacent to the tank installation.
“Because the Parking Lot No. 6 Stormwater Tank is the first step in a broader flood mitigation plan for The Port neighborhood, the stormwater tank’s design considers integration with future infrastructure improvements that will further increase the neighborhood’s resiliency,” explained Kleinfelder Project Manager Kate Goyette.
The project’s success was demonstrated after the tank went online in May 2021 and proceeded to divert more than 3,480,000 gallons of stormwater to the Charles River in the summer months alone, significantly reducing flooding in The Port neighborhood during the Boston area’s third-wettest summer on record.
The project also received national recognition at ACEC’s 2022 Engineering Excellence Awards Gala in Washington, DC – an event that honors the nation’s top engineering achievements and is known as the “Academy Awards” of the engineering industry (read more here).
Kleinfelder. Bright People. Right Solutions. Founded in 1961, Kleinfelder is a leading engineering, design, construction management, construction materials inspection and testing, and environmental professional services firm. Kleinfelder employs more than 3,000 professionals and operates from over 100 office locations in the United States, Canada, and Australia. The company is headquartered in San Diego, California. Poised for growth, Kleinfelder continues to provide high-quality solutions for our diverse client base. Visit Kleinfelder.com or follow us on LinkedIn/Kleinfelder.
