T.Y. Lin International Wins 2015 Golden State Award from ACEC-California for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge New East Span

T.Y. Lin International (TYLI), a globally recognized full-service infrastructure consulting firm, announces that the firm has received the top 2015 Engineering Excellence Award, the Golden State Award, from the American Council of Engineering Companies of California (ACEC-CA) for TYLI’s design of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge New East Span (East Span). TYLI, in a joint venture with Moffatt & Nichol, was the Engineer of Record on the immense bridge replacement project. The awards were presented to TYLI and its project partners from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) at the ACEC-CA 2015 Annual Engineering Excellence Awards Banquet in Sacramento, CA, on January 15, 2015.

The ACEC-CA Annual Engineering Excellence Awards competition recognizes outstanding achievements in engineering and land surveying projects completed by California firms. The East Span project, which was overseen by Caltrans, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and the California Transportation Commission, is the largest public works project in California history. TYLI led the design of this seismically-resilient landmark structure, which is the longest single-tower, Self-Anchored Suspension Span in the world at 2,047 feet and the world’s widest bridge at 258.33 feet. One of the busiest toll crossings in the United States, the new East Span opened to traffic on September 2, 2013.

“T.Y. Lin International is extremely pleased to be honored by the American Council of Engineering Companies of California for our design of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge New East Span,” said Alvaro J. Piedrahita, P.E., TYLI President and Chief Executive Officer. “As Engineer of Record, we incorporated state-of-the-art bridge design in order to provide the highest levels of seismic safety for Bay Area communities.”

The 2.2-mile-long East Span comprises four seamless and interrelated elements: the iconic, world record-breaking Self-Anchored Suspension Span (SAS); the 1.2-mile-long Skyway, which sweeps up from the Oakland shoreline to connect with the SAS; the Oakland Touchdown linking the Skyway to Interstate 80; and the Yerba Buena Island Transition Structure, which connects the SAS to the island. TYLI’s design of the replacement bridge had to meet Caltrans’s stringent seismic criteria, including a 150-year design life and the ability to open to emergency vehicles shortly after the largest anticipated earthquake.

To date, the new East Span has been named a finalist for the 2015 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and has won 11 major industry awards. These include the 2014 America's Transportation Award, Grand Prize and Best Use of Innovation Award, from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO); the 2014 Global Road Achievement Award for Design from the International Road Federation (IRF); the 2014 Excellence in Structural Engineering Award from the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA); the 2014 Globe Award (Projects > $100 Million) from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA); and the 2014 Concrete Bridge Award of Excellence from the Portland Cement Association (PCA).

Photo Credit: Brooke Duthie Photography