Valley Green Run Restoration Project Wins 2026 ACEC Pennsylvania Diamond Award

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Skelly and Loy, Inc., A Terracon Company, (Skelly and Loy) announces it has been awarded a 2026 Diamond Award for Engineering Excellence by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Pennsylvania (ACEC/PA) for the Valley Green Run Restoration and Pedestrian Bridge Project in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Skelly and Loy was selected by Friends of Wissahickon to deliver a design-build solution to restore a 220-foot segment of Valley Green Run that had severely eroded and caused major damage to a masonry retaining wall and boardwalk along the stream’s left bank. About one million people hike the trails in the vicinity of the Valley Green Run project each year. Visitors to Wissahickon Valley Park had been forced to travel along a paved road, creating a significant public safety hazard. The solution developed and constructed by Skelly and Loy and its design-build team included in-stream boulder step structures that blended into the aesthetics of the park while being able to withstand erosion and flooding, along with the addition of a safer, more robust pedestrian bridge boardwalk and trailhead plaza.

“This project reflects what thoughtful engineering can do for a community, restoring safety, character, and connection,” said Michael E. Lower, P.E., engineering department manager at Skelly and Loy. “Our team set out to blend durable stream restoration with a meaningful pedestrian experience. We are truly humbled, yet honored, by the recognition for this project that has created a welcoming gateway to a park people love.”

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