| March 17, 2006
 (South Plainfield, N.J.) The Route 18 Extension, Section 2A, project has received an Honor Award in the 2006 American Council of Engineering Companies, New Jersey (ACEC/NJ) Engineering Excellence Awards competition. The annual competition recognizes innovation, ingenuity, and excellence in engineering.
Gannett Fleming’s South Plainfield, N.J., office designed the 2.1 mile-long highway segment with three interchanges to carry more than 40,000 vehicles daily. The Route 18 Extension eliminated a significant congestion bottleneck and completed the “missing link” in the New Jersey State Highway System in Piscataway Township, N.J.
Underlying this location is the 18th century port community of Raritan Landing. Before construction could begin, a $5.8 million data recovery project to preserve the Raritan Landing Archaeological District was conducted. This constituted the New Jersey Department of Transportation’s largest single archaeological data recovery undertaking.
Context-sensitive solutions were incorporated into the highway design, which included numerous architectural and aesthetic enhancements that complemented the rich historic heritage of the Raritan Landing. Haunch girders, decorative lighting, and stained architectural concrete detailing on all surfaces of the bridge abutments, walls, and piers, enabled the project to be seamlessly integrated into the surrounding landscape.
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