News & Events
GZA Wins Three Awards for Rebuilding Gloucester’s Waterfront
At a Glance
NORWOOD, MA and GLOUCESTER, MA, December 12, 2018 – GZA, a leading multi-disciplinary firm providing geotechnical, environmental, ecological, water, and construction management services, is proud to be part of the team receiving three awards from Engineering News-Record’s Regional Best Project competition. GZA, National Grid, Anchor QEA, and Charter Construction will share the Best Water/Environment Project Award, the Excellence In Safety Award of Merit, and Project Of The Year – New England Region for a Manufactured Gas Plant cleanup project along the Gloucester waterfront.
The project began in 2010, when GZA in its role as lead engineering consultant for the team was commissioned to perform a preliminary site investigation. The former plant location had become a busy commercial and industrial location since its closing decades earlier. The team dredged the harbor, excavated coal tar contaminated soil, drove piles and poured specially engineered concrete for new retaining walls and environmental protection, all of this being done during some of the worst New England winters in recent memory.
For the award-winning Phase IV of the project, highlights included:
- Construction of a new seawall system at and around Solomon Jacobs Park, which in some cases meant excavating to depths of up to 20 feet.
- Construction of automated pumping systems to remove coal tar from depths of 60 feet.
- Dredging of 28,000 cubic yards of sediments, including temporary removal of local piers and floating docks in advance of the work, with reconstruction at the end of the work.
“Gloucester was an incredibly interesting, challenging and rewarding project that brought a great group of companies together to improve the environment and restore Gloucester’s historic shorelines,” Matt Barvenik, senior VP and lead principal on the project said.
“We are very proud to have been part of such a significant restoration project in such a popular coastal community. There was no precedent for much of what the team had to deal with, which made the result that much more remarkable,” said Bill Hadge, GZA President and CEO.