MBTA’s Worcester Union Station Accessibility Improvements Project Wins ACEC Awards
Written by Jennifer McLawhorn, Managing Editor
Worcester Union Station rendering.
Courtesy of MBTA
BOSTON - The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) Worcester Union Station Accessibility Improvements Project has won the 2025 American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) National Recognition Award and the ACEC/Massachusetts Engineering Excellence Award.
According to the release from the MBTA, HDR and the Worcester Union Station Accessibility Improvements Project won both of the awards. The EEA from the ACEC is “an annual celebration of engineering excellence, honoring projects worldwide that demonstrate innovation, creative problem-solving, and engineering’s unique ability to improve our world.” The panel is made up of experts from across the industry, in government, and in academia. The ACEC/MA Engineering Excellence and Awards competition recognizes achievements in engineering that “demonstrate the highest degree of merit and ingenuity.”
HDR served as the prime consultant on the Worcester Union Station Accessibility Improvements Project where it designed a new center island, full-length, high-level platform. This platform had accessible crossings from the parking lot to the platform. Those who worked on the project had to collaborate with both the departments within the MBTA and with outside agencies including the Worcester Redevelopment Authority, or WRA. The design met the WRA’s request for better “passenger flow through the building while also returning the space to its historic purpose of being a pedestrian access tunnel.”
“The MBTA is committed to rebuilding our infrastructure to deliver best-in-class service and ensure accessibility. Alongside our engineering and construction industry partners, we are proud to have been recognized locally and nationally by ACEC for the creative design and construction efforts shown at our historic Worcester Union Station building,” said MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng. “The team tackled many challenges to make this project a reality. With a problem-solving approach and vital collaboration, we delivered this critical project for Worcester and the entire rail line serving all the communities along this corridor. The national award highlights the success of this project, the teamwork demonstrated throughout design, and the construction to keep the project on track, literally and figuratively. I applaud all as their hard work and outside-the-box thinking is delivering results for the public we serve.”
“The HDR team was pleased to partner with MBTA on innovative design approaches that improve the customer experience and complement the historic Worcester Union Station architecture,” said Eric DiVirgilio, P.E., project manager and HDR rail/transit department manager. “The upgrades provide increased capacity, resiliency, and flexibility on the Framingham/Worcester Line – with a fully accessible center island platform and direct connection into the historic station. This teamwork with MBTA demonstrates what creative thinking and collaboration can do for area travelers.”
