Love Field Lighting Upgrade Cited in National Engineering Competition

Garver, LLC, of Dallas, Texas, has earned a National Recognition Award for exemplary engineering achievement in the American Council of Engineering Companies’ (ACEC) 56th annual Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) for the Love Field Exterior Lighting Program in Dallas.

The airport’s original lighting system used metal halide lights, which produced a significant amount of glare to pilots as they taxied into gates, many of which also fell short of aviation industry recommendations for area lighting. Garver’s aviation experts provided engineering design services to improve visibility throughout the airside area with new, more energy-efficient LED light fixtures.

In addition to substantially enhancing nighttime visibility for pilots and gate crews, the project also drastically reduced lighting energy usage by more than two-thirds. The project also reduces Love Field’s labor costs, as the LED fixtures less frequent bulb replacements and general maintenance.

The project is among 179 EEA entries this year representing engineering excellence from throughout the nation and the world. Judging for the awards program—known industry-wide as the “Academy Awards of the engineering industry”– took place in March and was conducted by a national 27-member panel of built environment leaders, along with experts from government, the media and academia. Award criteria focused on uniqueness and originality, technical innovation, social and economic value, and generating excitement for the engineering profession.

Recognition of all 2023 award winners, including top winners—16 Honor Awards, 8 Grand Awards and the prestigious “Grand Conceptor Award” for the year’s most outstanding overall engineering achievement—will take place at the annual EEA Gala Dinner and Awards Program, a black-tie event to be held Tuesday, June 13, 2023, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, D.C.