BOSTON, MA The American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts (ACEC/MA) has named Woodward & Curran, with offices in Andover, Massachusetts, as a winner of a 2017 Bronze Engineering Excellence Awards for work on the Willard's Woods Stream Daylighting and Drainage Restoration project in Lexington, Massachusetts.

The 2017 Engineering Excellence Awards were announced at the recent ACEC/MA Engineering Excellence and Awards Gala with emcees Carol Gladstone, Commissioner of the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance and Commissioner Leo Roy of the Department of Conservation and Recreation.

When water quality began declining in a stream in Willard's Woods, a conservation area in Lexington, Massachusetts, instead of replacing the drainage culvert the stream was being

discharged into, the town restored the stream to its natural state. Woodard & Curran daylighted the stream using natural channel and bioengineering design principles to improve stream quality, address deteriorated infrastructure, improve public safety and protect wildlife habitat. By allowing the stream to function in its ecosystem naturally, this project provides an effective, ecologically responsible solution in this important recreational space and functions as a key piece of the town's drainage improvement plan.

"The winning projects exemplify ingenuity and professionalism and represent the breadth of engineering's contribution to our everyday lives," said ACEC/MA President Mark S. Bartlett, PE, Senior Associate at Stantec, Inc. "They are outstanding examples of how engineers connect communities, provide safe and reliable water and energy, and make our buildings safe and efficient. The professional engineers and their colleagues at our member firms are dedicated to working on quality infrastructure, which wouldn't otherwise exist. These outstanding projects are but a few examples of the quality work designed by Massachusetts engineering firms."