Morrison-Maierle Receives Five 2025 ACEC-Montana Engineering Excellence Awards
ACEC-Montana Recognizes Engineering Excellence
ACEC-Montana awarded Morrison-Maierle five Engineering Excellence Awards this year.
The Engineering Excellence Awards are an annual celebration of engineering excellence, honoring projects throughout Montana that demonstrate innovation, creative problem-solving, and engineering’s unique ability to improve the world.
Scott Murphy, Morrison-Maierle President and CEO, said of our award-winning projects, “Congratulations to the award-winning project teams for continuing to deliver superior quality and technical excellence. We couldn’t be prouder of this achievement and the achievements of all our employee-owner colleagues.”
I-90 Quinn Creek Structures
The I-90 Quinn Creek Structures project won the Structural Systems category award.
Due to severe deterioration, the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) needed to replace the two Quinn Creek bridges east of Bozeman on I-90. In 2020, MDT hired Morrison-Maierle to design two new bridges. Using a lateral bridge slide, the team completed both bridges in just one construction season, limiting disruptions and increasing safety for the traveling public.
The project team included Jim Scoles, Bryan Vanderloos, Phill Forbes, Brandon McMillan, and Russ Lay.
CSKT Broadband Infrastructure project
The CSKT Broadband Infrastructure project received the Studies, Research, and Consulting Engineering Services Award.
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) hired Morrison-Maierle to help with the CSKT Broadband Infrastructure Project Environmental Assessment project. Installing 270 miles of fiberoptic line stretching from Kalispell, looping around the Reservation, and down to Missoula will bring high-quality broadband internet access to the CSKT community.
Christine Pearcy and Breanne Cline completed the project.
Billings Logan International Airport Terminal Expansion
The Billings Logan International Airport Terminal Expansion project received the Building/Technology Systems Award.
Thirty years after its last remodel, the Billings Logan International Airport decided to update and expand its terminal building. They hired Morrison-Maierle for engineering services, including civil engineering, construction administration, electrical, fire protection, information communications technology, mechanical, plumbing, project management, structural, and survey.
Like many of our airport projects, the Billings Terminal called upon diverse employee-owners from multiple offices and market groups. The project team included Heather Mosser, Matt Carr, Ryan Maroney, Pete Weber, Nate Menuez, Paul Heffernan, Joel Spring, Sam Posey, Kent Kuehn, Dylan Mahoney, and Willis Brangers.
Lockwood Water and Sewer District Water Treatment Plant improvements
The Lockwood Water and Sewer District Water Treatment Plant improvements won the Water Resources Award.
To meet the increasing water demands of its growing community, the Lockwood Water and Sewer District hired Morrison-Maierle to design a significant upgrade of its water treatment plant. Key parameters of this successful project included more than doubling water treatment capacity, providing operational flexibility, and adding UV disinfection for enhanced treatment.
The project team included Jill Cook, Laura Gundlach, Jeff Ashley, Elly Schmeltzer, Jay Fischer, Mike Brandt, Jerry Chambers, Joel Spring, Ryan Thomson, Jeff Kraft, Terry Jiracek, Randy LaRance and David Hallsten, in addition to many other employee-owners across multiple offices and disciplines.
Missoula Airport Runway Rehab LiDAR Survey
The Missoula Airport Runway Rehab LiDAR Survey project took home the Surveying and Mapping Technology Award.
The Missoula Montana Airport hired Morrison-Maierle to complete a comprehensive survey to prepare for its upcoming runway maintenance project. We used LiDAR scanning technology on the 10,000-foot runway, which gave us significantly more precise and detailed results in 45 minutes of survey time compared to several weeks with traditional methods.
The project team included Dave Sims, Levi Stubblefield, Cayden Jordan, Elijah Quick, Tyler Reed, Kevin Kittleson, and Sarah Michaelson.
Congratulations to both the clients and teams behind these excellent projects!
