The Future I-295 Fayetteville Outer Loop has earned two honors from the American Council of Engineering Companies of North Carolina (ACEC/NC), receiving a Grand Award in the Transportation category and the People’s Choice Award as part of the organization’s Engineering Excellence Awards.
The project completed the final 5.73-mile segment of the Fayetteville Outer Loop, a long-planned regional transportation corridor connecting communities around Fayetteville with I-95 and improving access to one of the nation’s largest military communities. STV served as lead designer for the design-build team, working with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and Balfour Beatty/Branch Civil joint venture to deliver the new interstate connection.
Throughout delivery, the team responded to evolving project conditions with engineering solutions that reduced community and environmental impacts while improving the corridor’s long-term resilience. STV’s design reduced right-of-way needs by 96.6 acres, avoided nine residential relocations and reduced impacts to wetlands and streams. Following Hurricane Florence, the team also worked with NCDOT to integrate planned I-95 widening and flood-resilience improvements into the active project, avoiding future reconstruction.
“These awards are a tremendous recognition of the engineering, collaboration and problem-solving that went into delivering the Fayetteville Outer Loop,” said Claire Brinkley, vice president and Charlotte, North Carolina, Area Manager at STV. “We’re proud of what our team accomplished alongside NCDOT, Balfour Beatty, Branch Civil and our project partners, and of the lasting benefits this investment will bring to the region.”
The project’s engineering innovations extended across roadway, structures, drainage, geotechnical design and construction coordination. Among them, an on-site conveyor system used to move embankment material significantly reduced truck traffic along I-95, helping improve work zone safety and lessen disruptions to travelers.
The ACEC/NC honors add to a growing list of industry recognition for the Fayetteville Outer Loop. Earlier this year, the project received the top transportation honor from the Design-Build Industry Association (DBIA) Southeast Region and later earned a DBIA National Award of Merit in the Transportation category.
