HNTB selected to design new Kosciuszko Bridge

New York — HNTB Corporation will be the lead designer for the Skanska-Kiewit-ECCO III Joint Venture, the design-build team chosen to complete the replacement eastbound Kosciuszko Bridge. It is the largest design-build project ever awarded by the New York State Department of Transportation. The $555 million, 1.1-mile-long project includes an 1,100-foot main span cable-stayed structure, high-level approach bridges, and low-level connectors with numerous overpasses over local streets.

The SKE JV is led by Skanska USA Civil of Queens, N.Y., serving as managing partner, Kiewit Corporation of Woodcliff Lakes, N.J. (headquarters in Omaha, Neb.) and ECCO III Enterprises Inc. of Yonkers, N.Y.

Construction on the foundations is expected to begin in fall 2014 and continue through 2015, with the bulk of the new eastbound bridge being built in 2016 and removal of the existing eastbound structure in 2017. Project completion is set for early 2018. A new westbound viaduct will be built as part of a future project. The Kosciuszko Bridge spans Newtown Creek, connecting the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens.

“This design-build project is closely modeled on the accelerated process used on the New NY Bridge project to replace the Tappan Zee Bridge, where HNTB serves as the owner’s engineer. Both of these bridge projects are important steps in upgrading the transportation network that is so critical to the economic and social well-being of this region,” said Charlie Dodge, P.E., HNTB vice president and design manager for the project. “The completed bridge will be an iconic structure that will serve the community well for many years to come.”

This project is NYSDOT’s largest design-build project on record and one of the first major cable-stayed bridges in the New York region. It is expected to set a precedent for future design-build projects throughout the state.

Since opening its office in New York City in 1922, HNTB has maintained a continuous presence in Manhattan and has expanded its practice in the state with offices in Albany and on Long Island. HNTB Corporation employs approximately 400 professionals in multiple offices across the tri-state region.