Highway, road, bridge and waterway improvement projects across the country were recognized Tuesday, May 25 for their contributions to environmental protection and mitigation during the American Road & Transportation Builders Association Transportation Development Foundation’s (ARTBA-TDF) 11th annual Globe Awards event, held in Washington, D.C., as part of the association’s Federal Issues Program.
The Globe Awards recognize private-sector firms and public-sector transportation agencies that do an outstanding job in protecting or enhancing the natural environment in the planning, design and construction of U.S. transportation infrastructure projects; and transportation construction-related product manufacturers and material suppliers that utilize exemplary environmental processes to protect and enhance the natural environment.
An independent panel of industry professionals reviewed all of the nominations and selected the winners.
The 2010 Globe Award winners are:
Category: Road
First Place:
Corman Construction; Whitney, Bailey, Cox & Magnani; and Maryland State Highway Administration: Design-Build MD 30 Hampstead Bypass. Envisioned more than 40 years ago and made reality in 2009 with strong community support, the bypass is a $43 million, 4.5-mile roadway that significantly reduces traffic congestion and air and noise pollution in the town of Hampstead, Md.
Second Place:
City of Peoria, Jacobs Engineering Group and Ames Construction: Happy Valley Road—67th Avenue to Lake Pleasant. What was budgeted as a $54 million, three-lane half street improvement project in Arizona was completed ahead of schedule as a $43.5 million four-mile, six lane roadway that improved the environment.
Category: Highway
First Place (tie):
O & G industries Inc., Star Construction Corp., MD Drilling and Blasting, and Stewart's Nursery Inc.: U.S. Route 7 Bypass. Building the 2.9-mile highway bypass around the Brookfield Four Corners Commercial Center in southwestern Connecticut, project team members used special wall designs to prohibit turtles and snakes from entering the roadway, laid extensive fencing and access channels to direct animals through safe corridors and scheduled project construction in stages to protect the needs of wildlife in the project area.
First Place (tie):
Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority and PBS&J: State Road 408 (SR 408) Context Sensitive Design and Reconstruction. SR 408, a 16-mile toll road through Orlando, Fla., had experienced traffic volumes exceeding the original design capacity. To overcome this challenge, the team increased highway capacity with a specific emphasis on environmental protection.
Second Place:
Bell & Associates Construction, Charles Blalock and Sons Inc., Wright Brothers Construction Co., Wilbur Smith Associates, and Tennessee Department of Transportation: SmartFix 40. Widening I-40 and completing adjacent roadway improvements in Knoxville provided an opportunity to showcase the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s SmartFix 40 accelerated construction process and implement new technologies to provide key environmental benefits.
Category: Bridge (Projects Over $100 Million)
First Place:
The Louis Berger Group Inc. and Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission: Trenton-Morrisville Toll Bridge Rehabilitation and Widening. The $102 million rehabilitation and widening of the 1.2-mile Trenton (N.J.)-Morrisville (Pa.) Toll Bridge, originally opened to traffic in 1952, has greatly reduced traffic congestion along this critical link on U.S. Route 1. To minimize impacts on the Delaware River, the team designed cantilevered extensions anchored vertically into existing bridge piers allowing an additional lane without structural construction in the river, resulting in a major reduction in time, cost and environmental impacts.
Category: Bridge (Projects Under $100 Million)
First Place:
T.Y. Lin International, Flatiron Construction, Safdie Rabines Architects, and San Dieguito River Park: David Kreitzer Lake Hodges Bicycle Pedestrian Bridge. With only six examples in North America and fewer than 50 worldwide, the world’s longest stress-ribbon bridge (1,000 ft) opened in San Diego last May.
Category: Waterways & Ports
First Place:
San Antonio River Authority; HDR Engineering; and Ford, Powell & Carson: Museum Reach Urban Segment-San Antonio River Walk. The 1.3-mile River Walk extension, initiated by San Antonio River Authority in partnership with the engineering and architect teams, integrated a linear park with enhanced flood-control measures in a highly-urbanized setting and featured ecosystem and native wildlife preservation, artistic amenities and increased safety elements.
