Great Lakes strives to be the most respected, professional, and preferred contractor in the heavy civil construction industry. We are proud of our team and the accomplishments we have achieved together.
2025 CEA Building Excellence Award (Over $25M Category)
Presented by the Construction Employers Association
Project 255-20, NEORSD Westerly Tunnel Dewatering Pump Station, Cleveland, OH
2025 Don Conaway Individual Partnering Award – Joe Fockler, PE (Project Superintendent)
Presented by the Ohio Contractors Association & Ohio Department of Transportation
ODOT 3000-20 (Mill Creek Expressway 5B) & ODOT 566-24 (I-471 Emergency Bridge Repair), Cincinnati, OH
2025 ACI Safety Excellence Award
Presented by Allied Construction Industries
2024 Ohio Concrete Project of the Year Award (Northeast Region)
Presented by Ohio Concrete
Project 19-17 Cleveland Metroparks Hinckley Lake Dam Rehabilitation, Hinckley, OH
2024 CEA Building Excellence Award (Under $10M Category)
Presented by the Construction Employers Association
Project 423-22, GCRTA Waterfront Line Bridge Rehabilitation, Cleveland, OH
2024 CEA Building Excellence Award (Under $10M Category)
Presented by the Construction Employers Association
Project 486-23, Cedar Point – Top Thrill 2, Sandusky, OH
2024 Don Conaway Partnering Award – Mid-Size Project
Presented by the Ohio Contractors Association & Ohio Department of Transportation
ODOT Project 590-21, SR-62 Relocation Project, Stark County, OH
2024 ACEC Engineering Excellence Award for Outstanding Project
Presented by the American Council of Engineering Companies
PROJECT 244-20, Aqua Ohio Ashtabula WTP Design-Build Project, Ashtabula, OH
2023 ASHE Lake Erie Project of the Year Award (Under $10M Category)
Presented by the American Society of Highway Engineers
ODOT Project 26-21
SR-2 Bridge Widening Project
Wickliffe, OH
2023 AEP ZERO HARM Safety Award
Presented by American Electric Power
AEP Transmission
ZERO HARM Safety Club
69kV Level
2023 ACEC Grand Award winner
Presented by the American Council of Engineering Companies
PROJECT 151-19
Akron Water Reclamation Facility BioCEPT Improvements
Akron, OH
2023 CEA Building Excellence Award (Over $10M Category)
Presented by the Construction Employers Association
Project 365-21
Cargill Cleveland Salt Mine Dock Rehabilitation Project
Cleveland, OH
2023 CEA Craftmanship Award
Presented by the Construction Employers Association
Project 365-21
Cargill Cleveland Salt Mine Dock Rehabilitation Project
Cleveland, OH
2023 CEA Craftmanship Award
Presented by the Construction Employers Association
Project 332-21
Charter Steel SBQ Facility Project
Cuyahoga Heights, OH
2022 Historic Bridge Award
Presented by: The Federal Highway Administration, the Ohio Department of Transportation, the State Historic Preservation Office, and the County Engineers Association of Ohio
ODOT Project 203-19
Detroit-Superior Bridge
Cleveland, OH
2022 ABCD Outstanding New Major Bridge Award
Presented by the Association for Bridge Construction & Design (ABCD)
Central, Northeast & Southwest Ohio Chapters
Project 203-19
Detroit-Superior Bridge
Cleveland, OH
2022 Don Conaway Partnering Award – Mid-Size Project
Presented by the Ohio Contractors Association & Ohio Department of Transportation
ODOT Project 3006-20
SR-3 Reconstruction
Medina County, OH
2022 CEA Building Excellence Award (Under $10M Category)
Presented by the Construction Employers Association
Project 198-19
Wendy Park Pedestrian Bridge
Cleveland, OH
2022 CEA Craftmanship Award
Presented by the Construction Employers Association
Project 244-20
Aqua Ohio Ashtabula Water Treatment Plant D-B
Ashtabula, OH
2021 CAWP/H2AP Safety Award
Constructors Association of Western PA
Lost-Time Accident Free 2021
2021 Jerry Keller Memorial Safety Award
Presented by the Ohio Contractors Association
Division III - Best Safety Record
2021 CEA Building Excellence Award (Under $10M Category)
Presented by the Construction Employers Association
Project 206-19
Cargill Boat Loader
Cleveland, OH
2021 CEA Craftmanship Award
Presented by the Construction Employers Association
Project 206-19
Cargill Boat Loader
Cleveland, OH
2021 CEA Craftmanship Award
Presented by the Construction Employers Association
Project 156-19
Crown Water Treatment Plant Residuals Improvements Project
Westlake, OH
2021 ACI Safety Excellence Award ($10M-$20M Category)
Presented by Allied Construction Industries
2020 Slag Cement Project of the Year Award - Durability
Presented by the Slag Cement Association
Project 110-18
Hazel Storage Basin (CSO Rack 10 & 11)
Akron, OH
2020 CEA Craftmanship Award
Presented by the Construction Employers Association
Project 169-19
GCRTA Red S-Curve Project
Cleveland, OH
2020 ABCD Outstanding New Short Span Bridge Award
Presented by the Association for Bridge Construction & Design
Central, Northeast & Southwest Ohio Chapters
ODOT Project 538-18
Clinton Street Bridge Replacement
Defiance, OH
2020 ASHE Outstanding Transportation Project Award
Presented by the American Society of Highway Engineers
ODOT Project 446-18
Vrooman Road Bridge
Painesville, OH
2020 ABCD Outstanding New Major Bridge Award
Presented by the Association for Bridge Construction & Design
Central, Northeast & Southwest Ohio Chapters
ODOT Project 446-18
Vrooman Road Bridge
Painesville, OH
2020 Roads & Bridges' Top 10 Bridges Award
Placed 7th
ODOT Project 446-18
Vrooman Road Bridge
Painesville, OH
ARTBA National Contractor Safety Award
Presented by The American Road & Transportation Builders Association
CAWP/H2AP Safety Award
Constructors Association of Pennsylvania
Lost-Time Accident Free 2020
2020 Zero Injury Safety Award
Presented by the Constructors Labor Council of West Virginia
Ohio Employee Ownership Award
Presented by the Ohio Employee Ownership Center
45 Years of Employee Ownership
2020 ACI Safe Member Company Award
Presented by Allied Construction Industries
Construction Safety Excellence Award - Placing 1st in the Nation
Presented by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC)
Highway Division 600,000-2,000,000 Work Hours
Finalists from around the U.S. gathered in Denver Colorado for presentations and judging on April 1-4, 2019, during AGC's Annual Convention. Winners were announced during the Willis Towers Safety Awards Breakfast on April 3rd.
Construction Safety Excellence Award - Over 1M Hours
Presented by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) of Ohio
Highway & Transportation
2019 Zero Injury Safety Award
Presented by the Constructors Labor Council of West Virginia
2019 ACEC Outstanding Achievement Award
Presented by the American Council of Engineering Companies
ODOT PROJECT 57-15
CUY-06-12.20 Lakefront West Project
Cleveland, OH
2019 Best Overall Safety Program & Culture Award
Presented at Safety Summit 2019 (EHS Daily Advisor Event)
CAWP/H2AP Safety Award
Constructors Association of Pennsylvania
Lost-Time Accident Free 2019
2019 Jerry Keller Memorial Safety Award
Presented by the Ohio Contractors Association
Division III - Best Safety Record
2019 CEA Craftmanship Award
Presented by the Construction Employers Association
Project 949-17
Norfolk Southern Grand River Bridge
Painesville, OH
2019 ABCD Outstanding New Major Bridge Award
Presented by the Association for Bridge Construction & Design
Central, Northeast & Southwest Ohio Chapters
ODOT Project 949-17
Norfolk Southern Grand River Bridge Project
Painesville, OH
2019 ABCD Outstanding New Short Span Bridge Award
Presented by the Association for Bridge Construction & Design
Central, Northeast & Southwest Ohio Chapters
ODOT PROJECT 3000-16
Opportunity Corridor Section II
Cleveland, OH
2019 Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility Award
Presented by U.S. Northeast Oil and Gas Awards
2019 Outstanding Community Advocate - Certificate of Recognition
Presented by Medina County Economic Development Corporation to honor Great Lakes' contributions to the economic development of Medina County
EHS Today
2018 America’s Safest Companies
The Great Lakes Construction Co. has been named one of America’s Safest
Companies for 2018 by EHS Today, the magazine for environment,
health and safety leaders.
2018 TAUC 36th Annual Thomas J. Reynolds Award for Excellence in Construction Safety & Health
Category II (500,000-1,000,000 Work Hours)
Presented by The Association of Union Constructors (TAUC) in recognition of Outstanding Safety Performance including Days Away, Restricted or Transferred Rate 25% or more below the National Average
CAWP/H2AP Safety Award
Constructors Association of Pennsylvania
Lost-Time Accident Free 2018
2018 Trails Showcase Silver Star Award
Presented at the Greater Cleveland Trails & Greenways Conference
ODOT PROJECT 57-15
CUY-06-12.24 Lakefront West Project
Cleveland, OH
2018 ASHE Outstanding Transportation Project Award
Presented by the American Society of Highway Engineers
ODOT PROJECT 57-15
CUY-06-12.24 Lakefront West Project
Cleveland, OH
2018 Top 10 Roads Award
Presented by Roads & Bridges (Read more about the project HERE)
ODOT PROJECT 57-15
CUY-06-12.24 Lakefront West Project
Cleveland, OH
2018 John L. Martin Partnered Project of the Year – Ruby
Presented by the International Partnering Institute
ODOT Project 3000-13
Cleveland Innerbelt Bridge
Cleveland, OH
ODOT Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion Award
Prime Contractor of the Year (Pictured below)
Presented by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Ohio and the Ohio Contractors Association
2018 Innovative Transportation Solutions Award
Presented by WTS (Northeast Ohio Chapter)
ODOT PROJECT 314-13
New Grade Separation of West 73rd St. & Norfolk Southern Railroad
Cleveland, OH
Zero Injury Safety Award
Presented by the Constructors Labor Council of West Virginia
Construction Safety Excellence Award - Placing 1st in the Nation
Presented by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC)
Highway Division 400,000-1,000,000 Work Hours
CAWP/H2AP Safety Award
Constructors Association of Pennsylvania
Lost-Time Accident Free 2017
2017 Jerry Keller Memorial Safety Award
Presented by the Ohio Contractors Association
Division II - Best Safety Record 715,552 Hours
2017 ABCD Outstanding New Major Bridge Award
Presented by the Association for Bridge Construction & Design
Central, Northeast & Southwest Ohio Chapters
ODOT Project 3000-13
Eastbound George V. Voinovich (Innerbelt) Bridge
Cleveland, OH
2017 ABCD Outstanding New Short Span Bridge Award
Presented by the Association for Bridge Construction & Design
Central, Northeast & Southwest Ohio Chapters
ODOT PROJECT 57-15
CUY-06-12.24 Lakefront West Project
Cleveland, OH
2017 Award of Excellence Infrastructure
Presented by the Cleveland Engineering Society, Design & Construction Division
ODOT Project 3000-13
Eastbound George V. Voinovich (Innerbelt) Bridge
Cleveland, OH
2017 ACEC Honor Award
Presented by the American Council of Engineering Companies
ODOT PROJECT 314-13
New Grade Separation of West 73rd St. & Norfolk Southern Railroad
Cleveland, OH
DRBF Excellence in Dispute Avoidance & Resolution Award
Presented by the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation
ODOT Project 3000-13
Eastbound George V. Voinovich (Innerbelt) Bridge
Cleveland, OH
Federal EPA’s 2017 PISCES Award
Presented by the United States Environmental Protection Agency
The City of Akron's Howard Storage Basin project was given the U.S. EPA's PISCES Award. The Howard Storage Basin is one of only 28 projects to be recognized in the country, and one of five rated exceptional by the U.S. EPA for excellence and innovation.
PROJECT 923-16
Howard Storage Basin (CSO Rack 22)
Akron, OH
AGC Build Ohio Award
Presented by the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Ohio
ODOT Project 3000-13
Eastbound George V. Voinovich (Innerbelt) Bridge
Cleveland, OH
Ohio EPA’s Encouraging Environmental Excellence (E3) Program E3 Silver Level Award
Presented by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
ODOT, TGR (Joint Venture: Trumbull, The Great Lakes Construction Co. & The Ruhlin Company) and HLMS were recognized by the Ohio EPA for efforts in sustainability. In addition, the project achieved an FHWA INVEST rating of Platinum.
ODOT Project 3000-13
Eastbound George V. Voinovich (Innerbelt) Bridge
Cleveland, OH
ODOT Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion Award – Business Development
Presented by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Ohio and the Ohio Contractors Association
2017 ODOT Director’s Award for Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion Advocacy
Presented to Mark Grdina by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Ohio and the Ohio Contractors Association
Don Conaway Partnering Award - Large Project
Presented by the Ohio Contractors Association & the Ohio Department of Transportation
ODOT Project 3000-13
Eastbound George V. Voinovich (Innerbelt) Bridge
Cleveland, OH
2017 Conaway Conference
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Columbus, OH
ENR 2016 Top 400 Contractor
Engineering News-Record
Group, 100% & Achievement Award
Presented by the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Comp, Construction Safety Council of Northeast Ohio & the Construction Employers Association
Award for preventing accidents and injuries in the workplace
Hours Worked Award
Presented by the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Comp, Construction Safety Council of Northeast Ohio & the Construction Employers Association
Special Award for outstanding effort in preventing accidents and injuries in the workplace from 12/4/15 to 12/31/16 - 699,901 hours worked
CAWP/H2AP Safety Award
Constructors Association of Pennsylvania
Lost-Time Accident Free 2016
2016 ABCD Outstanding New Short Span Bridge Award
Presented by the Association for Bridge Construction & Design
Northeast & Central Ohio Chapters
ODOT PROJECT 151-13
Buckey, Woodhill, Shaker Bridge over GCRTA
Cleveland, OH
Jerry Keller Memorial Safety Award
Presented by the Ohio Contractors Association
Division III - Best Safety Record 673,088 Hours
Quality of Life/Community Development Small Project Award
Presented by the American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
ODOT PROJECT 314-13
New Grade Separation of West 73rd St. & Norfolk Southern Railroad
Cleveland, OH
Ohio Employee Ownership Award
Presented by the Ohio Employee Ownership Center
40 Years of Employee Ownership
Don Conaway Partnering Award - Large Project
Presented by the Ohio Contractors Association & the Ohio Department of Transportation
ODOT PROJECT 314-13
New Grade Separation of West 73rd St. & Norfolk Southern Railroad
Cleveland, OH
On Tuesday, March 15, 2016, The Ohio Contractors Association & the Ohio Department of Transportation recognized ODOT District 12 and The Great Lakes Construction Co. for exemplary efforts in completing Project No. 13-0314 in using the principals of partnering. “Your dedication resulted in this prestigious nomination for the 2016 Don Conaway Partnering Award.”
2015
CAWP/H2AP Safety Award
Presented by the Constructors Association of Western Pennsylvania
Recognized for working the 2015 construction season without a Lost-Time Accident
Construction Safety Excellence Award - Placing 3rd in the Nation
Presented by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC)
Highway Division 450,000-650,000 Work Hours
Finalists from around the U.S. gathered in San Antonio for presentations and judging on March 6-9, 2016, during AGC's Annual Convention. Winners were announced during the Willis Towers Safety Awards Breakfast on March 10th.
ASHE Project of the Year Award
Presented by the American Society of Highway Engineers
ODOT PROJECT 314-13
New Grade Separation of West 73rd St. & Norfolk Southern Railroad
Cleveland, OH
2015 ABCD Outstanding New Short Span Bridge Award
Presented by the Association for Bridge Construction & Design
Northeast & Central Ohio Chapters
ODOT PROJECT 314-13
New Grade Separation of West 73rd St. & Norfolk Southern Railroad
Cleveland, OH
OCA Hall of Fame Award
In announcing George Palko as the 2015 Hall of Fame Award recipient, which is deemed as the Ohio Contractors Association’s most prestigious honor, OCA President Chris Runyan said of The Great Lakes Construction Company president, “George has been involved in almost every aspect of the association.” He’s correct.
Palko made a name for himself within OCA as a senior at Cleveland State University, when he was a 1986 recipient of an association scholarship. Over the next nearly 30 years, Palko in fact has involved himself in nearly every facet of OCA, serving on the Finance, Legislative & Resolution, Nominating, Political Action and Past Presidents committees; Long Range Planning Forum; Workforce Development Task Force; OCA Board of Directors; and was the 2013 OCA Chairman of the Board. And more.
“George was just a tremendous mentor for me when I first came to OCA, and as I am continuing,” Runyan said. “And, I know he has been that for many other people within the organization. He has worked to promote the organization and promoted involvement in OCA over all those years to his staff and to his company ...”
In accepting the honor, Palko said promoting OCA was an easy task. “When you’re involved in OCA, it’s easy to stay involved when you see the command of respect that Chris and his staff gets from ODOT; the command that (OCA Legislative Director) Angela (VanFossen) gets, be it on the national level, be it on the state level, be it on the local level. You look at the programs that OCA is involved in to get students involved, be it the scholarship programs, be it the high school or college Constructor For A Day, be it the Estimating Competition to keep the organization relevant.”
Palko used the analogy of being a spigot or a sponge. “You can go through life as a sponge and suck up the benefits of all the people before you, or you can be the spigot and just keep giving all that you can back to the organization. That’s kind of a mantra that I live by … I’ll leave with this: All the young people that are here, people that are involved in OCA, you all have some talent that you can give back to this organization in some way, ‘Be it little be it small, get involved.’
“Thanks for this great honor. I am truly humbled to be recognized today.”
(Courtesy of Ohio Contractor magazine)
ENR 2015 Top 400 Contractor
Engineering News-Record
Jerry Keller Memorial Safety Award
Ohio Contractor's Association, Division II - Best Safety Record 633,596 hours
U.S. Northeast Oil and Gas Awards
Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility
U.S. Northeast Oil and Gas Awards
Excellence in Health and Safety-Operations
Ohio Bureau of Workers' Comp
Achievement Award - for improving our incident rate by at least 25% from the previous year
Ohio Bureau of Workers' Comp
Group Award - for having the lowest incident rate in each group.
Ohio Bureau of Workers' Comp
100% Award - for working the entire calendar year without a lost-time accident.
Ohio Bureau of Workers' Comp
Special award for outstanding effort in preventing accidents and injuries in the workplace from 10/28/13 to 12/31/14 - 748,172 hours worked.