A historic piece of Sedona, Arizona, received national attention April 20 as infrastructure leaders gathered to celebrate the award-winning Ranger Station Park during the latest stop on the Engineering & Public Works Roadshow.
The event highlighted how public works professionals help communities preserve their history while building infrastructure designed to serve future generations.
The Roadshow showcased Ranger Station Park as an example of infrastructure investment that balances preservation, resiliency, and community identity.
Originally developed as part of the U.S. Forest Service’s early presence in Sedona, the 3.4-acre site includes historic structures dating back to 1917 and 1934. The city of Sedona transformed the property into a modern public park while preserving its historic character and addressing complex infrastructure challenges, including floodplain redesigns, drainage improvements, environmental remediation, and public accessibility enhancements.
The project received a 2025 APWA Project of the Year Award in the Small Cities/Rural Communities – Historical Restoration/Preservation category, recognizing the role public works professionals played in bringing the project to life.
“Projects like Ranger Station Park don’t happen by accident,” APWA Regional VII Director Kristina Ramirez, P.E., CPM, CFM, said during the event. “They happen because public works professionals, engineers, and community leaders come together with a shared goal: delivering infrastructure that reflects the community it serves while standing the test of time.”
Sedona Mayor Holli Ploog joined national infrastructure leaders, local officials, and project partners to celebrate the park and the collaboration behind it. Speakers emphasized that projects like Ranger Station Park demonstrate how public works agencies can preserve community character while creating functional, resilient public spaces.
