GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan – September 30, 2002 – Moore & Bruggink, Inc. Consulting Engineers and its Beaver Island Improvement Project received the Michigan 2002 Quality of Life Award at the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) annual awards luncheon. Annually, the award is given to the single engineering project in the state that reflects excellence in engineering that improves quality of life of an area. Moore & Bruggink President Gary Voogt, P.E. was joined by St. James Township Clerk Jean Palmer in accepting the award.

"The coordination efforts required, given the various project components and funding sources, plus the added challenge of the remoteness of the Island certainly made this an intriguing project and exemplifies what our Quality of Life Award is all about," said Gailius A. Vasonis, P.E., Chairman of the ASCE Awards Committee. 

"There were a lot of negatives to resolve to bring long-overdue infrastructure improvements to Beaver Island, including no asphalt plant, no gravel plant, no large equipment, and little money," Voogt described for the audience of civil engineers from around the state. "The catalyst project was resurfacing and improving Main Street which funded bringing extensive construction operations to the island. Combining the jobs allowed us to issue a contract to a single contractor, making it feasible to actually mobilize an asphalt plant on the island, the cost of which exceeded $100,000 alone. It also allowed St. James Township to resolve the challenge of acquiring and managing funding from a diverse group of sponsors."

This project began with a successful $1.4 million dollar grant application and final negotiations with the construction management company to rebuild Main Street; a project funded by the Charlevoix City Board of Commissioners and the Michigan Economic Development Corp. 

Upon completion, several projects were added to take advantage of the first time ever that an asphalt plant was available on the island. Addition of a 140-car parking lot for ferryboat customers, funded by the Beaver Island Transportation Authority. A complete sewer containment and treatment system, and paving of several island roads accessing churches and the Public Library. 

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