"We had to maintain environmental integrity for the adjacent areas as well," Kamber says. "On one side of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is a very expensive protected area. We only had a minimal amount of disturbance area that we could impact, and we did that effectively."

But the success of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway came down to the people, participants claim. "The great people that worked on the project made it the huge success we all talk about today," Proskovec says. "Everybody was completely engaged in the project that will protect the city for years to come."

Key Players

Owner: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District

General Contractor: Gulf Intracoastal Constructors (a JV of Kiewit Infrastructure South Co. and Traylor Brothers Inc.), Belle Chase, La.

Lead Design: Bioengineering ARCADIS, Metairie, La.; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans

Structural: HNTB, New York and Kansas City, Mo.; ARCADIS US Inc., Toledo, Ohio

Civil: ARCADIS US Inc., Toledo, Ohio

MEP: ARCADIS US Inc., Toledo, Ohio

Process/Mechanical: HNTB, New York and Kansas City, Mo.

Electrical: HNTB, New York and Kansas City, Mo.

Submitted by Arcadis and Kiewit Infrastructure South Co.