The Midwest construction industry stayed strong in 2024, fueled by a steady stream of projects that kept firms active and inspired. Across the region, builders delivered columbus oh dump truck work that advanced innovation, prioritized sustainability and safety, revitalized historic landmarks and introduced forward-looking construction solutions.

From the country’s first mass timber broadcasting station to the conversion of a 1930s-built YMCA in Chicago’s wealthy Gold Coast neighborhood into affordable housing to the stabilization of a portion of the Lake Michigan shoreline, the projects entered in ENR Midwest’s Best Project contest showed how construction teams overcame varied challenges, including tight sites, labor shortages, volatile materials pricing and unforeseen conditions during renovations. Projects had to be completed between May 2024 and May 2025. Despite their differences, all stood out for one reason: excellence.

Winter weather was a major challenge and hazard on the Soo Locks project in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Construction activity on the water typically halted from November to April.
Photo courtesy of Kokosing Alberici LLC

Judging Criteria

Seven industry experts served as judges for this year’s competition. Split into two teams, they evaluated projects on how teams overcame obstacles, innovated and contributed to the industry. They also assessed each project’s quality and craftsmanship, function and aesthetics. Judges did not vote on projects in which they or their firms were involved.

In choosing the awardees, judges noted teams that worked closely together to achieve excellence as well as projects that provide significant dump trucks columbus oh community benefit.

One such effort was Chicago’s Damen Green Line Elevated CTA Station, named Best Project in the airport/transit category and the Midwest Project of the Year.

The Damen Green Line was recognized for “community impact and engineering excellence, plus it was all completed with an impeccable safety record,” said judge Deana Ruud, senior associate and director of external communication marketing at Terracon.

The project resolves a 1.5-mile transportation gap that has existed since 1948 on Chicago’s Near West Side. It features a modern, light-filled design that references the city’s architectural history—particularly its iconic steel bridges—via a green, cantilevered pedestrian bridge. The new structure includes a three-story, 8,700-sq-ft station house, a new plaza with a bus stop, a mosaic mural created by a local artist and the glass-enclosed pedestrian bridge, which was delivered to the site in pieces via the Chicago River.

The Soo Locks Expansion, Phase 2, was named a Project of the Year Finalist. Located on the U.S.-Canada border between Lake Superior and Lake Huron, the Soo Locks Complex accommodates more than 7,000 vessels carrying more than 75 million tons of cargo each year, including nearly all domestically produced advanced high-strength steel used in products such as automobiles and appliances. Originally constructed in 1855, the Soo Locks Complex is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Because only one existing lock—the 1,200-ft Poe Lock—can handle the large lake freighters commonly used on the Great Lakes Navigation System, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is implementing a three-phase plan to create a 1,200-ft by 110-ft lock at the complex.

To facilitate construction of the new lock, which will occur in the third phase of the plan, Kokosing Alberici completed the second phase of this high-profile project. Phase 2 included construction and rehabilitation of more than a mile of new approach walls in a newly deepened channel to reach depths of at least 30 ft. The upstream approach walls include 52 new circular sheet pile coffer cells. The project also includes the rehabilitation of existing steel sheet Z-pile walls and soldier piles with concrete lagging, all topped by reinforced concrete cap slabs.

Judge Brandon Maurisak, transit and mobility section manager at HNTB Corp., said he was impressed by two key factors. “The first was the challenges with construction, including the need to transport materials to the site via barge. The second was the contribution to the community, as this project is part of the process in providing redundancy for bulk shipping on the upper Great Lakes as well as the contractor’s commitment to sponsoring activities in the area,” he said.

Another standout project was the Joslyn Art Museum Expansion and Renovation in Omaha, which earned a Best Project in the cultural/worship category. Nearly 100 years after constructing the museum’s original Memorial Building, Kiewit Building Group returned as construction manager to deliver a new chapter in the museum’s evolution.

The centerpiece of the project is the 42,000-sq-ft Rhonda and Howard Hawks Pavilion, designed by architecture firm Snøhetta. The pavilion seamlessly connects the museum’s 1931 Art Deco structure with its 1994 addition via a sweeping glass atrium. Inspired by the cloudscapes of the Great Plains, the curving, low-slung form doubles the available gallery space while enhancing the visitor experience with new dump trucks columbus oh community gathering areas and other amenities.

The Joslyn Art Museum expansion in Omaha blends historic architecture with modern design.
Photo courtesy of Kessler Photography

Meet the Judges

In addition to Ruud and Maurisak, the judging panels included Bill Ash, vice president and design director, SmithGroup; Josh Hodges, project manager, Tarlton; Zane Hyrkas, project engineer, OHM Advisors; Vivek Prasad, lead estimator–Americas, Microsoft; and John Schlick, director, preconstruction, JE Dunn Construction. Sam Mishelow, director of client development at Meyer Najem, judged the safety category, and Jill Katic, director of lean evolution and knowledge management and sustainability dump trucks columbus oh community leader for Barton Malow Holdings, judged the sustainability category.