Freese and Nichols designed the replacement of a gated spillway with a labyrinth weir. Design for the Lake Brazos Dam cut estimated construction costs in half to $15 million. The innovative labyrinth weir design combined reuse of the existing dam site with an unconventional spillway configuration, yielding substantial reduction in time and construction cost. The new dam was engineered to streamline the permitting process, avoid environmental impacts, and substantially reduce the time to project completion.

This project has received multiple awards, including the Engineering Excellence Honor Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies and Excellence in the Constructed Project from the United States Society on Dams, both in 2008.