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ESS Earns Two 2026 ABC Heart of America Excellence in Construction Awards
We’re proud to share that Emery Sapp & Sons (ESS) took home two awards at the 2026 ABC Heart of America Excellence in Construction Awards: 69Express won in the Infrastructure: Heavy category, and Oldham Village won in the Commercial: Over $10 Million category.
The program honors Merit Shop projects across Missouri and Kansas, judged on complexity, challenges overcome, workmanship, innovation, safety, and cost. Behind both wins are our employee-owners, who showed up every day and got it done.
69Express: Infrastructure: Heavy
Kansas’ busiest four-lane highway needed to be rebuilt, and it had to stay open while we did it.
Together with our joint-venture partner at Ames Construction, we formed U.S. 69 Express Constructors and delivered the $578.7 million U.S. 69 Corridor Modernization and Expansion Project for KDOT. The project delivered more than six miles of reconstructed and widened highway, 26 rebuilt or widened bridges, and Kansas’ first tolled express lanes.
What made this project award-worthy was how it was built. Our crews kept two lanes open in each direction through most of the corridor, working through 18 traffic phases and moving miles of temporary barrier as traffic shifted. They paved and hauled at night to keep delays down, and superintendents, engineers, and KDOT came together to coordinate the work. Smart thinking and teamwork showed up across the project.
Oldham Village: Commercial: Over $10 Million
In Lee’s Summit, Missouri, we worked with Drake Development to turn a former industrial property and Ford truck lease facility into a new commercial destination. Today the site is home to restaurants including Chick-fil-A, Whataburger, and Smalls Sliders.
Our team worked in phases on the 55-acre site, completing earthwork, underground utilities, and asphalt and concrete paving. Part of the property stayed in operation as an active truck storage lot while we worked. That meant we couldn’t clear the site all at once. Our team worked in phases as areas became available, constantly adjusting the plan to match the changing conditions without losing schedule or quality.
Celebrating the Teams
Behind every award-winning project are the employee-owners who made the work happen, along with partners like KDOT, Ames Construction, and Drake Development. This recognition belongs to all of you. ESS celebrated the wins and accepted the awards at the ABC Heart of America awards banquet on Thursday, November 5, 2026.
Congratulations, ESS. We’re proud to own it.
