T.Y. Lin International (TYLI), a globally recognized full-service infrastructure consulting firm, announces Joseph (Joe) Heller, P.E., TYLI Design Engineer, received an Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) Partnering Spirit Award for the US 60 and Bell Road Traffic Interchange Design-Build (D-B) project in Surprise, Arizona. ADOT bestows Partnering Spirit Awards to individuals who have played a significant role as members of partnerships achieving exceptionally positive results through agreements and productive working relationships.

The US 60 and Bell Road Interchange D-B project removed the State of Arizona’s third busiest intersection and replaced the ground-level facility with a new median urban diamond design (MUD). Constructed in a railroad right-of-way and along a major utility corridor, the project included a new bridge over US 60 and adjacent BNSF Railway tracks, and 90,000 square feet of mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls. The accelerated, 13-month D-B schedule provided significant project cost and time savings.

As the Lead Designer, TYLI was responsible for design management and all coordination between the design team, ADOT, the contractor (Coffman Specialties, Inc.), and other stakeholders. Scope of work included developing construction plans; final design services for the roadway, drainage, bridge, and retaining walls; developing alternative concepts and quantities for a successful winning combination of bid estimate and schedule; and post-design services. Heller was nominated for the Partnering Spirit Award by ADOT’s General Engineering Consultant (GEC)/Oversight team. Serving as the main liaison between the D-B team and the GEC/Oversight team, Heller coordinated all designer/reviewer resolutions to comments and later served as the Post-Design Engineer and a Construction Engineer for the contractor during construction.

Congratulations, Joe!