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ENR selected 35 projects across 16 categories in its 2026 MidAtlantic Best Projects awards, from nearly 75 submissions. The James River Crossing project in Newport News, Virginia, won Project of the Year. The selected work was completed between May 1, 2025, and May 31, 2026, in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Project of the Year and finalists
ENR named Pipeline Project Promotes Aquifer Replenishment (James River Crossing) the 2026 MidAtlantic Project of the Year. The project is in Newport News, Virginia. The Virginia Department of Forensic Science Central Laboratory and Office of the Chief Medical Examiner project and NASA Langley Research Center Flight Dynamics Research Facility were finalists. ENR selected the winner and finalists from projects that had received Best Project-level awards.
Winners and Award of Merit projects by category
ENR distinguished Best Project winners from Award of Merit recipients. The list below preserves those designations, along with special safety and sustainability recognition noted in the announcement.
Airport/Transit
- Best Project; Excellence in Safety: Pittsburgh International Airport Terminal Modernization Program
- Award of Merit: CSXT Howard Street Tunnel Clearance Project
- Award of Merit: Amtrak Lancaster Station Platform Replacement and Improvements
Cultural/Worship
- Best Project: Work to Ride McCausland Arena Equestrian Center and Stables
Energy/Industrial
- Best Project: The Watson Substation Project
- Award of Merit: UVA Fontaine Central Energy Plant and Utilities
Health Care
- Best Project: Nemours Children’s Health Advanced Delivery Unit
- Award of Merit: LifeBridge Health Sinai Hospital Emergency Department Expansion and Renovation
Higher Education/Research
- Award of Merit: Bloomberg Student Center
- Award of Merit: The Pennsylvania State University Nursing Sciences Building Renovation
- Project of the Year finalist: NASA Langley Research Center Flight Dynamics Research Facility
Highway/Bridge
- Best Project: Schuylkill Banks: Christian to Crescent Cable Stayed Bridge
- Award of Merit: Eastbound Bay Bridge Deck Replacement, Phase 1
K-12 Education
- Best Project: Washington International School Tregaron Science Building (“Le Centre Brown”)
- Award of Merit: Washington Latin Public Charter School Cooper Campus
Landscape/Urban Development
- Best Project: Saint Joseph’s University Post Crossing Underpass
Manufacturing
- Best Project: CloudHQ LC3 Data Center
- Award of Merit: Reitnouer Manufacturing Plant & Headquarters
Office/Retail/Mixed-Use
- Award of Merit: 600 Fifth
- Award of Merit: 101 Constitution Avenue Building Upgrades
Renovation/Restoration
- Best Project: Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream, Phase 2
- Award of Merit: Browne Education Campus Modernization
- Award of Merit: Marine Barracks Washington Building 8
Residential/Hospitality
- Best Project: JW Marriott Reston Station
- Award of Merit: Dix Street Residences
- Award of Merit: Coulter Place
Small Project
- Best Project: VPCC Newport News Trades Center
- Award of Merit: Lake Marion Restoration
Sports/Entertainment
- Best Project: Atlantic Park
- Award of Merit: Marlow Heights Community Center
- Award of Merit: CarMax Park – Richmond Flying Squirrels New Stadium
Water/Environment
- Award of Merit; Excellence in Sustainability: Piscataway WRRF Bioenergy Project
- Award of Merit: RiverRenew Tunnel System Project
Sustainability Award of Merit
- Meltzer Center at American University
- Swarthmore College Martin Hall
What the judges evaluated
ENR says judges considered how project teams overcame challenges, design and construction quality, work safety, contributions to industry innovation and best practices, and community benefit. Judges were assigned groups of categories to avoid conflicts of interest, and could select any combination of Best Project and Award of Merit winners. The announcement does not provide project-by-project scores, so the award list is not a comparative performance ranking.
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Judges named by ENR
The main-category judges were Jason Fuller, senior project manager at HDR; Theresa Giacomino, subcontractor outreach and diversity coordinator at PJ Dick; Mike Gibson, director of business development at Ondra-Huyett Associates Inc.; Andrew J. Graham, senior associate and technical director at Leo A. Daly; Grisel Gray, director of preconstruction at STACK Infrastructure; KiSeok Jeon, vice president, digital advisory at STV; Jeff Myers, director of business development at Agate Construction Co.; Brian Neckermann, program manager at The Walsh Group – Walsh Construction & Archer Western; Chuck Tomasco Jr., division president at C3M Power Systems; and Catherine Woodworth, project manager at Hensel Phelps.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Recognition and national competition
ENR said the regional winners would be recognized at its Best Projects awards event in Baltimore on October 30, 2026. Best Project-level awardees are automatically entered in ENR’s national Best of the Best contest. ENR’s October 6 announcement said national winners would be announced in the coming weeks and recognized at the annual Award of Excellence event in New York City on March 25, 2027; the announcement does not establish whether those later event details have since changed. Read ENR’s announcement and project list.
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