Celebrating a Great Awards Season
We’re excited to share that our amazing clients at HEI have racked up some impressive project awards. These honors really show off their vision and dedication to excellence, and we’re thrilled to have been part of their journey. It’s all about teamwork and innovation, and these awards prove just how powerful our partnerships can be. Congrats to our clients for their hard work and well-deserved recognition! Here’s a recap of awards:
Heart of the Lakes Trail | Otter Tail County Highway Department
In 2025, HEI submitted the Heart of the Lakes Trail project to the Special Projects category of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Minnesota Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA), and it was selected for an Honor Award! This project also received the Minnesota County Engineers Association (MCEA) Special Project of the Year!
This ambitious project by the Otter Tail County Highway Department created a multi-use sidepath trail between Perham and Pelican Rapids, MN, that provides cyclists, joggers, hikers and others more than 30 miles of new trails. This trail runs through Maplewood State Park, naturally extending the park’s existing trail system.
HEI was retained to complete preliminary and final design, surveying, environmental permitting, aquatic resources (wetland) delineation, culvert sizing, construction observation, and public engagement. Additionally, HEI’s team designed the wayfinding maps displayed along the trail.
Learn more about the project here.
Hansen Park Project | Rice Creek Watershed District
The Hansen Park project was the winner of the 2025 Minnesota Association of Floodplain Managers (MNAFPM) Project of the Year Award! This project, located in New Brighton, MN, delivers flood risk reduction and water quality improvements along Ramsey County Ditch 2, an urban watershed with a history of flooding and nutrient impairment.
Led by the Rice Creek Watershed District (RCWD) in partnership with the City of New Brighton and engineering support from HEI, the project transformed the existing pond and dam system into a multi‑functional infrastructure solution. A three‑stage dam and outlet design optimizes flow release timing, improving downstream flood protection while preventing increased flood risk to upstream properties. The project reduced flood elevations by nearly one foot in one of the watershed’s most vulnerable communities.
Water quality improvements were achieved through sediment removal, creation of a forebay, and construction of a first‑of‑its‑kind pumped iron‑enhanced sand filter system to reduce phosphorus loading. Additional benefits included habitat restoration, invasive species removal, and park enhancements.
Following construction, the RCWD and the City of New Brighton initiated a Federal Emergency Management Agency Letter of Map Revision supported by an updated districtwide hydraulic model. The revision removes multiple structures from the mapped floodplain and provides clearer flood risk information for landowners and floodplain managers throughout the watershed.
Learn more about the project here.
Lift Stations #11 and #57 Replacement | City of Fargo
The City of Fargo Lift Stations #11 and #57 Replacement project was the winner of the North Dakota Society of Professional Engineers (NDSPE) Chapter 4/FM Engineers Club Outstanding Design Award, the state-level NDSPE Outstanding Design Award, and a North Dakota Ready Mix & Concrete Products Association (NDRM&CPA) Gold Star Award!
Lift stations play a critical role in Fargo’s stormwater management and flood risk reduction. While major investments such as levees and the F‑M Area Diversion have strengthened regional flood protection, intense rainfall events can still cause flooding within protected areas. Storm sewer Lift Stations #11 and #57 were outdated and lacked the capacity needed to meet current demands.
In 2023, HEI partnered with the City of Fargo to reconstruct and modernize both lift stations. Early in the project, the team updated the watershed’s InfoSWMM models to determine the appropriate size for a single replacement lift station and a new outfall structure. Located on Fargo Park District property, the site required close coordination to address limited space and utility conflicts.
The final design consolidated the two aging lift stations into one efficient, higher‑capacity system with a new box culvert outfall. The upgraded facility includes backup pumps and raises access points to improve reliability and reduce the risk of failure during heavy rain and flood events.
Learn more about the project here.
52nd Avenue South Bridge and Hydraulic Control Structure | City of Fargo
In 2025, HEI submitted the 52nd Avenue Bridge and Hydraulic Control Structure over the Sheyenne River project to the Structural Systems category of the ACEC North Dakota EEA and was selected for an award.
HEI partnered with the City of Fargo to replace the 52nd Avenue Bridge and Hydraulic Control Structure over the Sheyenne River. This undertaking delivered a major upgrade to Fargo’s transportation infrastructure. The new four‑lane bridge replaces an aging two‑lane structure and includes a raised median and shared‑use paths on both sides, improving safety, accessibility, and traffic flow for all users.
The project also integrates a hydraulic control structure and fish passage rock arch rapids, ensuring reliable water levels for the City’s intake while restoring aquatic connectivity. Despite challenges such as unstable channel slopes and poor soil conditions, the design successfully balanced infrastructure needs with environmental stewardship.
Learn more about the project here.
Whiskey Creek Enhancement | Buffalo-Red River Watershed District (BRRWD)
The Whiskey Creek Enhancement Project received a Grand Award in the Water Resources category at the 2026 ACEC Minnesota EEA and a National Recognition Award at the national competition in Washington, D.C.
BRRWD enlisted the help of HEI to restore 14 miles of Whiskey Creek, a previously sluggish and choked waterway, to a stable, natural stream system, reducing flood damages while improving waterway function and water quality. BRRWD installed 89 side inlet structures to reduce nutrient and sediment loading to the stream and acquired easements to restore 335 acres of riparian habitat (the area adjacent to the creek) along the stream corridor to promote wildlife habitat and protect the channel from erosion.
The restoration reduced sediment and phosphorus loading by an estimated 3,444 tons per year and 2,111 pounds per year, respectively. Preliminary monitoring by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency shows improved water quality, with the potential for Whiskey Creek to be removed from the impaired waters list for turbidity. The project has also reduced flood impacts to nearby properties and is expected to enhance recreational fishing opportunities.
Learn more about the project here.
About the Awards
ACEC EEA
Each year, the ACEC of many states organize their EEA competition, celebrating engineering achievements in impressive projects and studies completed. Firms from throughout the participating states submit projects and studies in multiple categories to be evaluated by judges. Projects that receive a Grand Award at the ACEC Minnesota EEA move on to the ACEC EEA national competition.
Project of the Year
Every year MNAFPM select a great project which has helped, or will help, to reduce flood risk in Minnesota. The project can be related to the design and construction of a flood risk reduction feature or non-construction related to a policy or program implemented to address flood risk. The project can be in the public or private sector and does not have to be recent.
North Dakota Society of Professional Engineers – Project Awards
These awards are given at both a chapter and state level to recognize outstanding engineering firms represented in the state of North Dakota. They are based on engineering design content of a project completed or under construction in the current year. Consideration is given to how the project employs innovative or state-of-the-art engineering practices to make it unique and deserving of an award.
Special Project of the Year
The MCEA recognizes a project that demonstrates unique design, environmental stewardship, community involvement and successful completion despite obstacles.
Gold Star Awards
Every year the NDRM&CPA holds the Gold Star Awards to recognize projects demonstrating excellence in concrete.