LaBella Wins North Carolina ACEC Engineering Excellence Award
LaBella Associates’ Lyon Court Storm Drainage Improvement Project in Charlotte, NC, has earned the prestigious 2025 ACEC/NC Grand Finalist Award for Engineering Excellence in the Water and Environment category.
The award was presented on November 14, 2024, during the American Council of Engineering Companies of North Carolina (ACEC/NC) Engineering Excellence Awards ceremony. This annual celebration recognizes projects that demonstrate innovation, creative problem-solving, and engineering’s transformative impact on communities. Projects are judged by a panel of industry, government, and academic experts, with state-level winners advancing to the national competition.
About the Lyon Court Storm Drainage Improvement Project
The Lyon Court project tackled significant flooding in a 311-acre urban watershed, improving storm drainage infrastructure to better serve the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community. Partnering with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services (CMSWS), LaBella implemented comprehensive solutions, including:
- 21,850 feet of drainage system upgrades, with pipes ranging from 15 to 54 inches in diameter and box culverts up to dual 9’x7’.
- Natural channel stabilization, enhanced with in-stream structures and native vegetation.
- Utility relocations, ensuring seamless integration with existing infrastructure.
The project utilized advanced GIS mapping and hydrologic modeling to ensure precise and efficient design. Despite aggressive schedules, the team completed the construction phase on time and on budget, with the warranty phase concluding in 2023.
Learn more about this impactful project: Lyon Court Storm Drainage Improvement Project.
Recognizing Excellence in Engineering
ACEC/NC represents the engineering industry’s interests in North Carolina and celebrates projects that exemplify engineering’s power to solve complex challenges. To view the full list of 2025 winners, visit: 2025 ACEC/NC Award Winners.
Congratulations to all the winners for their outstanding contributions to communities across North Carolina!