Halff Achieves Fourth ACEC National Recognition Award with Bastrop State Park Dam Project

RICHARDSON, Texas — The Bastrop State Park Dam has been honored with a National Recognition award from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) in the water resources category, marking the fourth prestigious accolade earned by a Halff project in the last three years. The project will be formally recognized at May’s awards gala in Washington, D.C.

After the Bastrop State Park Dam embankment failed in 2015, Halff and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) began developing conceptual solutions to reconstruct the dam. The final dam design consisted of a structural fill earthen embankment with a bentonite slurry cut-off wall to control seepage. During flood events, the dam was designed to be overtopped and stabilized on the downstream slope with stepped roller-compacted concrete with a stilling basin, dissipating the hydraulic jump and lowering flow velocities.

Bastrop State Park Dam received a 2024 ACEC National Recognition Award. The project team will be honored at an awards gala in May. 

Halff continued supporting TPWD throughout the construction phase by providing services that included responding to RFIs and submittals, reviewing change orders, handling monthly invoicing from the contractor, guiding project closeout, ensuring Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) compliance and completing record drawings. The Halff project team also provided biological monitoring for the endangered Houston toad as required by the USACE permit and engineering support to review contractor construction of the embankment foundation and slurry wall.

Bastrop State Park Dam received an ACEC Texas Gold Medal in the water resources category last year. Other previous Halff-related ACEC National Recognition awards include the East Austin Emergency Utility Repair project (2023), FAMU Way (2022) and the City of Fort Worth’s Storm Drain Rehabilitation program (2022).

About the Firm

Halff is an award-winning, employee-owned, diverse and full-service infrastructure consulting firm that improves lives and communities by turning ideas into reality. For nearly 75 years, Halff has provided smart solutions for clients throughout the United States. The people-first firm is committed to continuously investing in its employees and fostering a culture of collaboration.

Halff has more than 30 offices in Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. The firm was recognized as the 2023 Texas & Louisiana Design Firm of the Year by the Engineering News-Record. Halff is ranked No. 87 in the 2024 Top 500 Design Firms rankings by ENR. Halff is the No. 16 Top Workplace nationally in 2024 as ranked by Energage for businesses with 1,000 to 2,499 employees.

For more information about Halff, visit halff.com.