COWI wins big at ACEC Washington's 2018 Excellence in Engineering Awards

COWI North America is proud to be recognized by ACEC Washington (ACEC-WA) as a recipient of two 2018 Excellence in Engineering Awards: Baring Bridge Emergency Repair won a Silver Award in the category of "Successful Fulfillment of Client/Owner Needs" and the Abraham Lincoln Bridge won a Gold Award in the Structural Systems category. COWI was presented with the awards on January 19, 2018 during ACEC-WA annual Excellence in Engineering Gala. 

Closure of vital link not an option 

As the only crossing of the South Fork of the Skykomish River, the Baring Bridge is a vital link for the residents of the Index Creek neighborhood to U.S. Highway #2 and the rest of King County.

Additionally, the bridge is the only connection to King County Fire District Station #296, school buses and the U.S. postal service. As a result, taking the bridge out of service for many months to replace the deck was not an option.  

COWI developed a replacement methodology that met the rigorous scheduling requirements set by King County.

Pushed the boundaries

The Abraham Lincoln Bridge was completed on an aggressive design-build schedule. COWI was engineer of record for the cable-stayed bridge, including foundations, and provided detailed erection engineering and temporary works designs.

Throughout the project, the design team continuously pushed the boundaries to address technical challenges and public feedback.  For example, the pylons on the bridge are shaped like a home plate in cross section to honor the town of Louisville's love of baseball. 

The design-build contract was awarded in December 2012, and the bridge opened to traffic on December 6, 2015, 4 months ahead of schedule.  

The Abraham Lincoln Bridge Design-Build Team was led by Walsh Construction and Jacobs Engineering was the Prime Engineering Consultant. Close collaboration between the parties and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet provided clear communication throughout the project.

"COWI is very proud to be the recipient of two 2018 ACEC-WA Excellence in Engineering Awards," says Darryl Matson, Senior Vice President, Bridge, COWI NA. "We continually strive to provide innovate solutions that exceed customer expectations and are eager to work on the most challenging projects."