Hoover Dam Bypass wins prestigious OCEA Award

OMAHA, Neb. – The Hoover Dam Bypass/Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge project was awarded the Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement (OCEA) award by the American Society of Civil Engineers on March 22 at its OPAL Gala in Washington, D.C.

The society annually recognizes an exemplary civil engineering project that best illustrates superior civil engineering skills and represents a significant contribution to civil engineering progress and society. The Whittier Access Tunnel, another HDR project, won an OCEA award in 2001.

The Hoover Dam Bypass project dates back to 2001, when the Federal Highway Administration, Central Federal Lands Highway Division (CFLHD) awarded a contract to HDR to provide design and construction support services for the project. Under the management of CFLHD, HDR led an integrated team of professionals from HDR, T.Y. Lin International and Jacobs Engineering (formerly Sverdrup) and several specialty subconsultants.

The bypass is the innovative solution to the challenge of improving mobility and safety in the dam vicinity and enhancing the economic capacity of the route that passes through the area. It includes the landmark 1,900-foot-long Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge over the Colorado River, 1.2 miles of approach roadway and two bridges in Arizona, and 2.3 miles of roadway and six bridges in Nevada.

Besides managing the design of the entire project, HDR also shared design for the river bridge, and provided detail design for the Nevada approach and five other approach bridges, including the Gold Strike Canyon crossing. The river bridge is the highest and longest arched concrete bridge in the Western Hemisphere and features the world’s tallest precast concrete columns. The innovative hybrid structure is designed to complement the dam with the high-performance concrete arch, while limiting the load demands with a modern steel superstructure. It is the first steel-concrete hybrid arch bridge in the United States.

The Hoover Dam Bypass previously won the Grand Conceptor Award, the highest national honor bestowed by the American Council of Engineering Companies, among several additional awards.

HDR is a global employee-owned firm providing architecture, engineering, consulting, construction and related services through our various operating companies. Our more than 7,800 professionals are committed to helping clients manage complex projects and make sound decisions. Learn more at hdrinc.com.