Hoover Dam Bypass/Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge Wins Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers

T.Y. Lin International (TYLI) announced today that the Hoover Dam Bypass/Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge project was named the winner of the 2012 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement (OCEA) Award for superior engineering achievement from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). TYLI engineers led the design of this landmark span, which now complements one of the foremost engineering wonders of the world: Hoover Dam.

TYLI received the OCEA Award at the annual Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) Gala, held on March 22, 2012, in Arlington, VA. Established in 1960, the OCEA Award recognizes the project deemed to embody the best in civil engineering and which represents a significant contribution both to the civil engineering profession and to society as a whole. ASCE established the annual OPAL awards to celebrate outstanding engineering achievements and recognize the contributions of civil engineers worldwide.

“As the designers who created this new engineering landmark, we are proud and honored to receive ASCE’s 2012 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award. It is truly one of the most highly-prized awards in our industry,” said David Goodyear, Chief Bridge Engineer of TYLI. “The project was a significant engineering challenge. The bridge at Hoover Dam –anchored in the rugged cliffs of the Black Canyon and arching 900 feet above the river – serves today as an enduring example of an engineering design that achieved its goals in both form and function."

The full "Hoover Support Team" – a consortium of HDR, Jacobs Engineering (formerly Sverdrup) and TYLI – was selected by the Central Federal Lands Highway Division (CFLHD) of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in consultation with the Arizona and Nevada Departments of Transportation, to provide design and construction support services for the Hoover Dam Bypass Project. The Hoover Dam Bypass Project includes the signature 1,900-foot-long bridge, with 1.2 miles of approach roadway in Arizona and 2.3 miles of roadway in Nevada. The bridge designed by TYLI is the highest and longest concrete arch in the Western Hemisphere. Ranking as the second-highest bridge of any kind in the United States, it also features the tallest concrete segmental columns of any bridge on the planet.

Among its many awards, the Hoover Dam Bypass Project also won the 2011 Grand Conceptor Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies for best overall engineering achievement.

Photo Credit: Jamey Stillings