THE LPA GROUP INCORPORATED, in association with Wilbur Smith Associates, received an Engineering Excellence Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) for the Environmental Impace Statements (EIS) for I-73 in South Carolina, which were conducted for SC DOT. I-73 in South Carolina was distinguised by the speed in which two EIS were completed (43 months and 39 months, versus a national average of  7 years), the use of Geographic Information Systems technology to quickly develop and evaluate alternative corridors, the creation and implementation of a new agency coordination process that provided unprecedented public agency input on the development of the project, the extensive public involvement process that offered the general public the opportunity to fully participate in the project development, and the format used to prepare the EIS documents to make them more reader-friendly.