SKOKIE, Ill.--Ten winners have been named in Portland Cement Association’s (PCA) Tenth Biennial Bridge Awards Competition. The competition, instituted in 1988, recognizes excellence in design and construction of concrete bridges. Roads and Bridges magazine was a co-sponsor of this year’s competition.

This year's winning projects:
• The Guadalupe County I-40 Overpass Bridges, Guadalupe County, N.M.
• Elk Avenue/Doe River Bridge Rehabilitation, Elizabethtown, Tenn.
• Moose Creek Bridge, Timmins, Ontario, Canada
• Perry Street Bridge, Napoleon, Ohio
• Brady Street Bridge, Milwaukee, Wis.
• University Avenue Arched Pier Bridge over I-74, Peoria, Ill.
• Four Bears Bridge, New Town, N.D.
• Noyo River Bridge, Fort Bragg, Calif.
• County Road 453 over Battleground Creek Bridge, Coupland, Texas
• Wapello County Mars Hill Bridge, Wapello County, Iowa

The 2006 program attracted 79 entries from Canada and the United States, covering a variety of structure types and construction methods. All structures were completed between June 2004 and March 2006.

The winners will be recognized at the American Concrete Institute's Fall Convention in Denver.

Winning projects were selected based on creativity, functionality, and economy by a jury of three prominent bridge professionals: Daniel Dorgan, State Bridge Engineer, Minnesota Department of Transportation; Mary Lou Ralls, Ralls Newman, LLC, Austin, Texas; and Louis Triandafilou, High Performance Structural Materials Specialist, FHWA Resource Center, Baltimore, Md.

The next installment of the bridge awards is scheduled for 2008.

More about the winners (click on image to download hi-res version)

The scope of work included partial and full deck repairs, removal of portions of the arch ribs under shored conditions, replacement of rib reinforcement in areas near the crown of each span, epoxy injection of various shear cracks and delamination cracks, replacement of spindle rail components and concrete lamp posts, and the addition of a reinforced concrete deck overlay.

Project Principals: City of Elizabethton, owner; Division of Structures, Tennessee Department of Transportation, engineer; General Constructors, contractor; Summers-Taylor Construction Company, concrete supplier.

Jury Comments: This is just a fantastic rehabilitation job. Careful planning, design, construction, and attention to details helped return the 1926 jewel back to the community.
Photo courtesy of Tennessee Department of Transportation

Project Principals: Ohio Department of Transportation, owner; HNTB Corporation, engineer; Fru-Con Construction, contractor and precaster; Dielman Concrete Co., concrete supplier.

Jury Comments: This is an excellent example of the creative use of precast construction. The designers used the latest technology to create a stunning replica of a bygone era bridge with modern, durable materials in record time.
Photo courtesy of HNTB Corporation

The owner’s requirement for minimum maintenance was addressed by using high performance concrete and eliminating deck joints thru the use of integral abutments. The integral abutments were also effectively used to address the uplift caused by a large center-span-to-end-span ratio.

Project Principals: Milwaukee County Wisconsin, owner; Bloom Consultants, LLC, engineer and architect; Lunda Construction, contractor; Zignego Ready Mix, concrete supplier.

Jury Comments: A very efficient and attractive structure complementing other architectural landmarks in the vicinity. The triangular openings in the superstructure’s shallow arch bottom give it a light airy appearance.
Photo courtesy of Bloom Consultants, LLC

Project Principals: Illinois Department of Transportation, owner; Alfred Benesch & Company, engineer; Walsh Construction Company, contractor; Construction Materials, concrete supplier; Prestressed Engineering Corporation, precaster.

Jury Comments: Engineering at its best. The use of a tied arch to simultaneously span a creek and act as a center pier for a two-span bridge is quite innovative. Precasting reduced the tied arch pier onsite construction time from two months to just 2 ½ days. The total value engineered approach taking into account aesthetics, speed of construction, contractor alternate, and the needs of the DOT is exemplary.
Photo courtesy of Alfred Benesch & Company

Several design features addressed the need for durability and minimum maintenance for this important bridge, including: high performance concrete, longitudinal and transverse post-tensioning of the deck, elimination of deck blockouts for tendon anchorages, continuous jointless deck, and ¾ inches integral concrete wearing surface. The context sensitive design recognized the local Native American culture and history with tribal symbols on the box girder web walls and pedestrian walkway.

Project Principals: North Dakota Department of Transportation, owner; FIGG and Kardmas, Lee & Jackson, engineers; Fru-Con (now, Bilfinger Berger Civil Inc.), contractor; Watford City Ready Mix, concrete supplier.

Jury Comments: A sleek and elegant bridge. A well-balanced design addressing durability, long-term maintenance, ease and speed of construction, local traditions, and economics. The use of precast cofferdams is a unique solution to handle the ice loads. The $3 million savings compared to conventional construction is impressive.
Photo courtesy of FIGG, Engineer of Record for the Four Bears Bridge

The three-span four-lane cast-in-place concrete post-tensioned box girder bridge is 874 feet long with a main span of 327 feet Structural challenges included a staged construction since the new bridge alignment was the same as the old one, mass concrete application, and high seismicity with soil liquefaction. The builders also need to be sensitive to enviromental issues that included the protection of marine life, Native American concerns, dominant fishing industry issues, and impact on area tourism. But the public’s main concern was the aesthetics - the view of the harbor through the bridge and of the view of the jetty below the bridge had to be preserved.

Project Principals: California Department of Transportation, owner, engineer, and architect; MCM Construction Inc., contractor; Granite Construction Company and Baxman Gravel Company Inc., concrete supplier.

Jury Comments: The designers did a great job of meeting the community’s needs while addressing a myriad of challenging site constraints. The public wanted a gem, and they got one.
Photo courtesy of State of California Department of Transportation

County Road 453 over Battleground Creek Bridge - Speed of construction was the main driver for the design of this modest 60-feet single-span bridge. Additionally, channel hydraulics limited the structure depth to only 2 feet. Engineers at TXDOT focused on three strategies: minimize cast-in-place concrete, minimize the number of beams, and use simple beam connections.

Building on the existing standard precast, prestressed slab beams, a new beam shape was developed – 7 feet 6-inches-wide x 23 inches deep T-beam with 1 feet overhang of the 8-inches thick flange. The side-by-side T-beams were connected to each other along the longitudinal V-shaped joint by welding a 1-inches diameter connector rod to steel plates embedded in flanges of the beams. A conventional bridge at this site would have taken six months to build; the new T-beam bridge took only six weeks.

Project Principals: Williamson County, Texas, owner; Texas Department of Transportation, engineers; Capital Excavation Company, contractor; Texas Concrete and Materials Company, concrete supplier; Heldenfels Enterprises Inc., precaster.

Jury Comments: A unique, creative, innovative accelerated bridge construction system. Very economical as well as aesthetically pleasing. The simplicity of form and ease of handling make this system perfectly suited for short county bridges and remote locations.
Photo courtesy of Texas Department of Transportation

Wapello County Mars Hill Bridge - Although a simple, single-span bridge with a 3-beam cross section, this bridge is a significant step toward “The Bridge of the Future” – utilizing 110-feet ultra high performance concrete (UHPC) girders that do not have any rebar for shear stirrups. It was built with Ductal®, a “revolutionary” UHPC that offers a unique combination of superior properties including ductility, durability, aesthetic flexibility, and amazing strengths – compressive strength up to 30,000 psi. With optimized girder crosssections, UHPC bridges can have low lifecycle costs due to efficient design, faster construction due to lighter members, and longer life from superior durability.

Project Principals: Wapello County, Iowa, owner; Federal Highway Administration and Iowa State University/Bridge Engineering Center, collaborators; Iowa Department of Transportation and Wapello County, Iowa, engineers; Bloomfield Bridge and Culvert Inc., contractor; Lafarge Canada Inc., concrete supplier and precaster.

Jury Comments: As the first ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) girder bridge in North America, the Wapello County Mars Hill Bridge project demonstrates leadership in advancing the state-of-the-art in bridge materials! The partnership between the DOT, FHWA, industry, and academia to implement advanced research into practice is commendable.
Photo courtsey of Rich Sanders/GPA

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About PCA
Based in Skokie, Ill., the Portland Cement Association represents cement companies in the United States and Canada. It conducts market development, engineering, research, education, and public affairs programs.