AtkinsRéalis’ Floyd Hill Project Wins Digital Infrastructure Award

DENVER, Colo. – AtkinsRéalis, a fully integrated professional services and project management company with offices around the world, received the Bentley Systems 2023 Going Digital Awards in Infrastructure, in the Roads and Highways category, for its digital design on the Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT) Interstate 70 (I-70) Floyd Hill project. AtkinsRéalis is designing safety and mobility upgrades to an eight-mile section of I-70 that serves as a major trucking route and thoroughfare to many of Colorado’s most popular recreational destinations. AtkinsRéalis is a first-time recipient of the prestigious engineering award.    

“We are truly thrilled to receive this award that recognizes our fundamental approach of connecting people, data and technology to deliver the innovative solutions our clients depend on,” said Steve Morriss, President, Engineering Services, U.S., AtkinsRéalis. “By combining our digital expertise with decades of engineering excellence we are optimizing design and delivery of our planet’s most complex and challenging projects.”

The Floyd Hill project removes a bottleneck of the interstate and reduces travel times for commercial traffic, residents and tourists driving to nearby ski resorts and other destinations. It has been highlighted by U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and CDOT for the economic benefits it provides to Colorado and the Nation. Safety enhancements along the corridor include improving the highway’s design speed and increasing stopping sight distance on horizontal curves. Additional upgrades include a westbound tolled Express Lane, an eastbound auxiliary lane, new bridges, improved interchange and frontage road access, wildlife passageways under the roadway, two air quality monitoring stations and a full reconstruction of a nearby trail. Construction is underway with project completion expected in 2028.

The use of technology and visualization software helped the team develop solutions to handle many site-specific challenges and constraints. Leveraging digital tools made it possible to mitigate impacts to the surrounding natural environment, built environment, residents and other stakeholders while also providing a more efficient and cost-effective design.

“Utilizing digital tools allowed our team to visualize dozens of alternative designs and fully evaluate construction impacts, quantities, costs and constructability leading to a preferred alternative that best met the project goals,” said Donna Huey, Chief Digital Officer, Engineering Services, U.S., AtkinsRéalis. “This award highlighted our ability to reduce hours worked by more than 50,000 and project costs by more than $7 million, showcasing AtkinsRéalis’ ability deliver exceptional value to our clients and taxpayers.”

AtkinsRéalis is revolutionizing the design, delivery and operation of infrastructure projects through its world-leading knowledge in design, engineering, project management, sustainability and digital-transformation. Our consultants, engineers, technologists and project managers have helped clients reshape the world, with new ways of designing and building that make the lived environment work better for everyone for more than eight decades.