Sources: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Washington, D.C.; CP staff

A bridge redefining how federal and state agencies view concrete methods’ fast-track potential and value engineering is the 2009 America’s Transportation Awards Grand Prize winner. The new Interstate 35W Mississippi River crossing, linking Minnesota’s Twin Cities, topped an AASHTO and U.S. Chamber of Commerce competition recognizing projects in “On Time,” “On Budget,” and “Innovative Management” categories. The selection was announced at the AASHTO Annual Meeting, in Palm Desert, Calif., and nets  a $10,000 cash award to support a Minnesota Department of Transportation-designated charity or academic scholarship program.

Dubbed the St. Anthony Falls Bridge, the I-35W structure has a 504-ft. main span of segmental precast girders, bearing on parabolic curve piers along east and west river banks, and three shorter spans of cast-in-place segmental design. Market leader Cemstone Products Co. delivered 50,000-plus yd. of high performance or conventional concrete mixes to the site and adjacent precast segment fabrication yard.

The 10-lane structure was dedicated in September 2008, a little over a year after the original I-35W crossing collapsed, claiming 13 motorists. Shortly after the tragedy and a $230 million replacement-bridge funding commitment from the Federal Highway Administration, MnDOT let bids for a design-build project with projected 16-month construction window. That narrow target resulted in three bids proposing structural steel designs against the winning cast-in-place and precast concrete package devised by Figg Engineering and Flatiron-Manson Joint Venture.

The St. Anthony Falls Bridge was among 10 projects AASHTO and the Chamber of Commerce honored. The America's Transportation Awards competition encourages performance, accountability, and innovation, notes Chamber Director of Transportation and Infrastructure Janet Kavinoky. “Businesses large and small cannot succeed without reliable transportation systems and these projects are the best of the best.”