US 181 New Harbor Bridges Wins Richardson Medal
This week, the project earned another accolade, earning the George S. Richardson Medal at the 2026 International Bridge Conference at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Md.
Kurt Knebel, chief operating officer at Flatiron Dragados, accepted the award. Roads & Bridges spoke to Knebel following the awards ceremony. He spoke about the communication and team work that made the project a success, and how it feels to see the bridge become an iconic landmark in Texas.
This week, the project earned another accolade, earning the George S. Richardson Medal at the 2026 International Bridge Conference at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Md.
Kurt Knebel, chief operating officer at Flatiron Dragados, accepted the award. Roads & Bridges spoke to Knebel following the awards ceremony. He spoke about the communication and team work that made the project a success, and how it feels to see the bridge become an iconic landmark in Texas.
About the Author
Gavin Jenkins, Head of Content
Head of Content
Gavin Jenkins is an award-winning journalist based in Pittsburgh. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, VICE, Narrative.ly, Prevention, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Beijing Review.
In 2020, two stories he wrote for Pitt Med Magazine earned three Golden Quill Awards from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania. “Surviving Survival” won Excellence in Corporate, Marketing and Promotional Communications – Written, Medical/Health, while “Oct. 27, 2018: Pittsburgh’s Darkest Day, and the Mass Casualty Response” won Excellence in Written Journalism, Magazines – Medical/Health, as well as the Ray Sprigle Memorial Award: Magazines, a Best in Show award.
After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown in 2003, he covered sports for the Bedford Gazette, in Bedford, Pa., and the Martinsville Bulletin, in Martinsville, Va. In 2006, he returned to Pittsburgh to write for Trib Total Media. Based out of the Kittanning Leader Times, he worked for the Trib for two years, and then he moved to Shenzhen, China, to teach English and freelance. After two years in China, he earned an MFA in nonfiction from the University of Pittsburgh.
When he's not at work, he's usually playing with his border-collie mix, Bob.