Fort Lauderdale, Fla. –ENR Southeast has announced the latest winners of its annual Best Projects awards competition and, for the second year in a row, Bergeron Land Development captured the top spot for Environmental/Water Project. Bergeron’s work on the Port Everglades Wetlands Restoration in Broward County tied with the Sunset Harbour Neighborhood Improvements in Miami-Dade County.
As part of the Port Everglades Southport Turning Notch Extension, Bergeron was responsible for replacing almost nine acres of an existing mangrove conservation easement with almost 17 acres of invasive trees and miscellaneous materials into a thriving mangrove wetlands area with approximately 70,000 red and black mangroves and some buffer species trees to complete the area. The project also includes a deep channel to allow for manatee access.
Thanks to the success of the wetlands restoration, Port Everglades was given approval to move forward with the most expensive capital improvement in the port’s history. The $437.5 million Southport Turning Notch Expansion (STNE) project will add new berths for larger cargo ships and install rail infrastructure for new Super Post-Panamax cranes. It will lengthen the existing turn-around area for big cargo ships from about 900 feet to 2,400 feet, making space for up to five new cargo berths.
In 2016, Bergeron Land Development took the top prize for its involvement in the Miami Beach Pump Stations and West Avenue Neighborhood Improvements. Bergeron partnered with the City of Miami Beach for the $34.6 million design-build project commissioned to fight flooding brought on by heavy rains, King tide and raising sea levels. The scope of the project included elevating roadways and sidewalks as much as three feet, raising sea walls and installing four pump stations capable of pumping more than 80 million gallons of water per day.
About the ENR Southeast Best Projects Award
Every year, ENR Southeast assembles an independent group of judges to review, score and determine final winners. After an initial scoring of projects, the judges—via two separate panels—meet to discuss the projects and come to a consensus on awards. Judges could select any combination of Best Project-level category winners and Award of Merit honorees. This year, our judges collectively reviewed nearly 90 entries before honoring the winners. All of this year’s winners will be profiled in the magazine’s November issue. Additionally, ENR Southeast will honor each winning project at an awards luncheon on November 17th at the Omni Orlando Resort at Champions Gate. For a complete list of 2017 Best Project winners, click here.