Paint and Coatings Industry News

Main News Page

Innovative Bridges Steeled for Gold

Thursday, May 3, 2012

More items for Program/Project Management

From quaint old footbridges to soaring modern superstructures, 18 steel bridges have earned national recognition in the 2012 Prize Bridge Awards Competition.

Creative Commons / A.E. Crane

The historic Bridge of Lions, in St. Augustine, FL, drew top honors in the Reconstructed category.

The program, conducted by the National Steel Bridge Alliance (NSBA), honors outstanding and innovative steel bridges constructed in the United States. This year’s Prize Bridge Awards were presented April 18 at the 2012 World Steel Bridge Symposium (WSBS) and NASCC: The Steel Conference, a combined show in Dallas, TX.

WSDOT

A construction worker walks across the top of the Nooksack River Bridge as it nears completion. The bridge took a Prize Bridge Award in the Long Span category. (Editor’s note: Washington State DOT, which took this photo, says the worker is attached to appropriate fall protection, but the lines are difficult to see from this distance and angle.)

The awards covered a variety of categories, including major span, long span, medium span, short span, movable span, reconstructed, special purpose, accelerated bridge construction, and sustainability.

Winners List

This year’s Prize Bridge Award winners are:

• Major Span: Main Street Bridge, Columbus, OH

• Long Span: Nooksack River Bridge, Whatcom County, WA

• Short Span: South Layton Interchange SPUI at I-15 and Layton Parkway, Layton, UT

• Movable Span: BSNF Railway Burlington Bridge, Burlington, IA

• Reconstructed: I-93 FAST 14 - Salem Street Interchange, Medford, MA

• Special Purpose: Tempe Town Lake Pedestrian Bridge, Tempe, AZ

This year’s Merit Award winners are:

• Major Span: kdICON Project - Christopher S. Bond Bridge, Kansas City, MO

• Major Span: John James Audubon Bridge, St. Francisville, LA

• Long Span: Estero Parkway, Estero, FL

• Medium Span: S.R. 0113, Section 08B, Gay Street Bridge Replacement, Phoenixville, PA

• Short Span: Lynch Village Bridge, Lynch Village, PA

• Reconstructed: Bridge of Lions Historic Rehabilitation, St. Augustine, FL

• Special Purpose: Hillhouse Pedestrian Bridges, New Haven, CT

• Special Purpose: Pedestrian Bridge at the Yards Waterfront Park, Washington, D.C.

The following projects received Accelerated Bridge Construction Commendations:

• San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge (CA) East Tie-In Structure

• Sam White Bridge, American Fork, UT

• I-93 FAST 14 - Salem Street Interchange, Medford, MA

The following project received a Sustainability Commendation:

• Silverdale Bridge, Stillwater, MN

Judges and Criteria

Selection of winning bridge projects was based on innovation, aesthetics and design and engineering solutions.

FHWA

More than 1,200 spectators watched as the Sam White Bridge was moved into place over five hours in March 2011— the longest two-span bridge ever moved by self-propelled modular transporters. The American Fork, UT, project earned a Commendation for its use of Accelerate Bridge Construction techniques.

Judging was conducted by a jury of six bridge professionals:

• Benjamin Beerman, P.E., senior structural engineer, FHWA Resource Center, Atlanta;

• Robert Healy, P.E., director of structures, RK&K, Baltimore;

• David Hohmann, P.E., senior project manager, HDR Engineering, Austin, TX;

• Ray McCabe, P.E., senior vice president, HNTB Corporation, NY;

• Hormoz Seradj, P.E., steel bridge standards engineer, Oregon DOT; and

• Doug Waltemath, project manager, Harrington & Cortelyou, Kansas City, MO.

The winners were selected from nearly 70 entries covering a variety of structure types and construction methods. All structures were opened to traffic between May 1, 2009, and September 30, 2011.

MNDOT / Daniel R. Pratt

The Silverdale Bridge, in Stillwater, MN, received a Sustainability Commendation from AISC.

The competition began in 1928, with first place awarded to the Sixth Street Bridge (now the Roberto Clemente Bridge) in Pittsburgh, PA. The competition was held annually until 1977, when it became a biennial event.

The National Steel Bridge Alliance, a division of the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), is dedicated to advancing the state of the art in steel bridge design and construction.