On February 9, 2017, the American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois held their annual Excellence Awards Luncheon recognizing 50 Illinois firms for excellence in engineering. Willett, Hofmann & Associates, Inc. and their client, the City of Rockford, were presented with two Engineering Excellence Merit Awards for the “Harmon Park Drainage Improvements – Phase II”, and the “Rails to Trails over the Rock River” projects.

The Harmon Park Drainage Improvements project was the cornerstone of a 10-phase project involving the transformation of a park into a detention area/green space in order to manage the flooding issues occurring in the City of Rockford’s Harmon Park area.

The Rails to Trails over the Rock River project consisted of the conversion of a 900 ft. 1914 railroad bridge over the Rock River, to a pedestrian path. The path connects residential and commercial areas on both sides ot the river. Preserving the railroad bridge not only provides tourists and residents a chance to visit history, it is also now a functional bridge for the traveling public and a vital link to local and regional path systems.