NSBA announces 2018 Prize Bridge Award winners

The Sellwood Bridge, Portland, Ore., received a National Award in the Major Span category. Photo: courtesy of NSBA

Chicago — Seventeen steel bridge projects earned national recognition in the 2018 Prize Bridge Awards competition. Conducted every other year by the National Steel Bridge Alliance (NSBA), the Prize Bridge Awards honor significant and innovative steel bridges constructed in the U.S. Recognizing innovative design and engineering, the award is the highest honor bestowed on bridge projects by the U.S. structural steel industry. The winning bridges and their project team members will be recognized at the 2018 NASCC: The Steel Conference / World Steel Bridge Symposium, April 11-13 in Baltimore (www.aisc.org/nascc).

The awards were presented to winners in nine categories covering an array of bridge types including: Major Span, Long Span, Medium Span, Short Span, Moveable Span, Reconstructed Bridge, Special Purpose, Integrated Project Delivery and Technological Advancement. Commendations were also given to projects that best exemplified accelerated bridge construction (ABC) and sustainability. All structures were opened to traffic between May 1, 2015 and September 30, 2017.

This year’s National Award winners are:

• Major Span: Sellwood Bridge, Portland, Ore.
• Long Span: Greenfield Arch Bridge, Pittsburgh
• Medium Span: Colville River Nigliq Bridge, Nuiqsut, Alaska
• Short Span: US Route 340, Waynesboro, Va.
• Moveable Bridge: Gut Bridge, South Bristol, Maine
• Reconstructed Bridge: RFK Bridge – Manhattan Approach Ramps, New York City
• Special Purpose: Peter Courtney Minto Island Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge, Salem, Ore.

This year’s Special Award winners are:

• Integrated Project Delivery: Rouchleau Mine Bridge, Virginia, Minn.
• Technological Advancement: Folded Steel Plate Girder Bridge, Muskingum County, Ohio

This year’s Merit Award winners are:

• Major Span: Hulton Bridge, Pittsburgh
• Medium Span: Sewalls Falls Bridge, Concord, N.H.
• Short Span: Broadway Avenue Bridge, Boise, Idaho
• Moveable: Fort Street Bridge, Detroit
• Reconstructed: BNSF Railway Company, Bridge 482.1, West Memphis, Ark.
• Special Purpose: Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Moose Run Golf Course, Anchorage, Alaska

The following project received a Sustainability Commendation:

• Neponset River Greenway, Milton, Mass.

The following project received an Accelerated Bridge Construction Commendation:

• Mario Cuomo Bridge, Tarrytown, N.Y.

“Selecting award-winning bridges in the 2018 competition was more challenging than ever,” said Michael Culmo, PE, CME Engineering, the lead judge in the competition. “Submissions came from all across the country, including Hawaii and Alaska, and represented numerous structure types, construction methods and project delivery models. Our recognized bridges included bridges that extended the boundaries of steel design and steel bridge construction, and others that showed efficient use of steel as a material of choice for bridges.”

Winning projects were selected based on innovation, aesthetics, economy, and design and engineering solutions by a jury of five engineering and construction professionals: Michael Culmo, PE, CME Engineering; Frank Russo, PE, PhD, Michael Baker International; Amber Blanchard, PE, Minnesota Department of Transportation; Tony Hunley, PE, PhD, Stantec; and Dominique Shannon, PE, Kansas Department of Transportation.

For more information about the Prize Bridge Awards competition and the winning projects, visit www.steelbridges.org/prizebridge.