Parsons Wins ACEC Award for Virginia Avenue Tunnel Project

By TBM Staff April 15, 2020

Parsons Corp. (NYSE: PSN) announced that the company’s Virginia Avenue Tunnel Reconstruction (VAT) project, a joint venture between Parsons and Clark Construction, won the Grand Award, the American Council of Engineering Companies‘ (ACEC) highest honor.

The Virginia Avenue Tunnel project, recognized with the prestigious Grand Award, is the culmination of CSX Transportation’s ambitious National Gateway Initiative — an infrastructure improvement plan designed to improve rail connections by upgrading bridges and tunnels to accommodate double-stacked intermodal freight trains.

The progressive design-build effort represented one of the most critical and sensitive freight rail infrastructure improvement projects in the country because it was adjacent to 11 city blocks in the historic Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The VAT is an essential route for freight trains traveling north and south through the District as well as for freight traffic from eastern seaports to the Midwest.

Parsons and Clark Construction completed the project on-time, under budget, and – critically – without ever interrupting CSX’s freight traffic.

Additionally, Parsons was recognized by ACED for its Monroe Street Bridge project, which won a National Award, and the TEXRail Commuter project, a joint venture between Parsons and TranSystems, which also won a National Award.

“These prestigious awards signify the quality of the work we perform and the level of attention we provide both to our customers and to the communities in which we work,” said Aykut Urgen, senior vice president of Parsons Mobility Solutions and Clark Construction-Parsons Corporation joint venture board member.

“Each project includes unique characteristics that make it truly remarkable – replacing more-than-a-century-old infrastructure with a modern, state-of-the-art mobility solution for the Virginia Avenue Tunnel; maintaining important neighborhood aesthetics for Monroe Street Bridge; and substantially improving mobility in Fort Worth, Texas.”