The best projects face challenges

Once again, it’s time for ENR Texas & Louisiana to showcase the outstanding projects recognized as part of its annual Best Projects competition. For more than 20 years, this competition has recognized outstanding achievements in construction and design throughout the region that includes Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Oklahoma, and we are proud to do the same this year. Our independent judges again had tough decisions to make, with ENR Texas and Louisiana receiving a total of 115 entries in total.

This year’s panelists collectively reviewed entries in a total of 18 different project categories, ranging from airport/traffic to water/environment, while assessing factors such as safety, innovation , design execution, quality of craftsmanship and benefits to the community or industry. To lighten the load a bit, each individual panel of judges collectively reviewed only a handful of project categories.

After each individual judge read and submitted their scores for each entry, the individual panels met via Zoom call to discuss and determine the individual winners for each category. In each category, the judges will collectively decide on an overall best project award for the market category along with an award of merit if warranted.

The Baytown Supermodule Furnace project in Baytown, Texas marked a remarkable achievement in modular construction.
Photo by Dave Shafer

It is never an easy task for our jury to review all the submissions we receive from project teams and select the best project winners, and this year was especially difficult given the quality of the work done last year in the Texas region and Louisiana. .

ENR Texas & Louisiana thanks these judges, listed here alphabetically, for lending their time and industry expertise to help us recognize these projects.

• Matthew Cartwright – Freese and Nichols Inc.
• Isaac Garcia – Robins & Morton
• Timothy Gregorski – Walter P Moore
• Julie Huval: Marketing Operations Advisor
• Matt McCaffrey – Skanska USA Building Inc.
• Natalie Pagano – Manhattan Construction Group
• Sam Roberts – Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority
• Valletta Saldanha – AECOM

Additionally, each year ENR Texas & Louisiana recognizes projects for their overall attention to safety, as well as the results the team was able to achieve during the course of construction. Kim Mason, senior director of safety services at Associated General Contractors of Houston, and Brandon Smith, director of safety and workforce development at the Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance, assisted us with reviewing the safety award nominees of this year

Presented by contractor Stacy Witbeck, the recipient of the Safety Excellence Award was the McKalla Station Design-Build project in North Austin, Texas. The project also won an award of merit in the airport/transit category.

A project team transformed a former rocket manufacturing warehouse into a fun and aesthetically pleasing library in Frisco, Texas.
Photo by Ryan Conway

Finalist project of the year

In addition to selecting the category winners, the entire panel of Best Projects judges voted to determine the finalists for Project of the Year.

The Frisco Public Library project in Frisco, Texas, and the Port of Beaumont Main Street Terminal 1 in Beaumont, Texas, were both strong contenders for the honor, but the first prize went to the Baytown Supermodule Furnace Project in Baytown, Texas.

We invite you to read not only these three projects, but the entire collection of Best Projects this year, all deserving of recognition.