The Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) has selected the Traylor-Massman-Weeks Joint Venture as the recipientof the 2016 Ben C. Gerwick Award for Innovation in Design and Construction of Marine Foundations.

The group is being recognized for its development and successful implementation of an assembly line construction approach for construction of the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC) Storm Surge Barrier for the city of New Orleans. The award is being presented on June 8 at the DFI SuperPile '16 luncheon in Chicago, where the recipient will make a presentation. 

The Ben C. Gerwick Award for Innovation in the Design and Construction of Marine Foundations was established in 2008 to recognize the innovative spirit of Ben C. Gerwick and his contribution to the marine foundation industry over his 62-year professional career as a contractor, educator and construction engineer. The award encourages and recognizes innovation in the marine foundation industry.

The assembly line system was designed and developed for the installation of 7,500 linear feet of storm surge barrier. The system was centered around a rail mounted pile driving template supported on a temporary pipe-pile trestle system along the entire length of the barrier. The entire assembly line system included a fleet of 16 barge-mounted cranes, five land-based cranes, 10 trestle-mounted pieces of equipment and more than 40 barges. The DFI says the assembly line, completed in 18 months, is the largest civil works, design-build project in the history of the United States Army Corp of Engineers (USACE).

The award is sponsored by the Deep Foundations Institute Educational Trust, University of California Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the Ben C. Gerwick Company. DFI will provide a donation to the DFI Educational Trust Scholarship Fund from the proceeds of the SuperPile Conference.

The DFI is an international association of contractors, engineers, academics and suppliers in the deep foundations industry with more than 3,300 members worldwide. For more information about the Deep Foundations Institute, visit www.dfi.org.