RETTEW project selected for ACEC/PA engineering award

Lancaster, Pa. — The American Council of Engineering Companies of Pennsylvania (ACEC/PA) awarded RETTEW a Diamond Certificate for the State Route 11 Bridge Project. The award criteria includes innovation, complexity, exceeding client needs, future value to engineering, and sustainable design. The awards were presented at a gala held March 2 in Lancaster, Pa.

“This project really showed the expertise of our bridge design experts,” said Mark Lauriello, president and CEO of RETTEW. “Our team came up with a cost effective solution that met complicated site needs while integrating with the site’s surroundings, which will benefit the traveling public and the community long after construction.”

The bridge project, completed in the fall of 2016, is in Larksville Borough, Luzerne County. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation needed to replace the bridge carrying a four-lane roadway over a local walking trail, which is slated for a future addition to the Susquehanna Warrior Trail. RETTEW specified precast concrete arches to be erected under the existing bridge without closing the roadway to traffic, in essence building a tunnel and then completing the rest of the structure.

Project challenges included installation of micropile foundations in lieu of traditional pile driving, underground utility locating and vibration monitoring for a large natural petroleum pipeline, and construction with only one side of the structure accessible by large equipment. Traffic remained uninterrupted for about 90 percent of the project’s timeline, and the completed new bridge includes electrical wiring for future trail lighting, as well as enough height to accommodate equestrian trail riders.

“Our engineers, project managers, and supporting staff work hard every day to improve the infrastructure in the communities we live and work in,” Lauriello said. “We’re humbled and excited to honor them with this award.”