AASHTO Journal, 16 November 2012
The Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) honored the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development with a 2012 Design Excellence Award last Thursday for its John James Audubon Bridge while other state transportation departments were recognized for their own projects.
“I am extremely proud of this beautiful structure,” said DOTD Secretary Sherri LeBas in a statement. “By using the design-build process for the construction of the John James Audubon Bridge, DOTD was able to achieve maximum cost-savings and efficiency.”
The Audubon Bridge, which runs over the Mississippi River, is the longest cable-stayed bridge in the Western Hemisphere and was also the first design-build project ever undertaken by DOTD. The $409 million project included roughly 12 miles of new roadway leading up to the bridge and connects Point Coupee and West Feliciana parishes. The bridge has improved freight and commerce efficiency for major industries in the area, as it has reduced freight travel time (which also reduces costs that would otherwise be passed down to consumers). Construction on the bridge began in May 2006, and the bridge opened to traffic in May 2011.
Maryland State Highway Administration was given a Transportation National Design-Build Award for its $2.425 billion Intercounty Connector, an 18.8-mile highway that connects major transportation corridors in the Washington, D.C. area. Arizona Department of Transportation received a Transportation Design-Build Honor Award for its State Route 101L High-Occupancy Vehicle Design-Build Project in Phoenix, which was delivered under budget in less than nine months instead of the original estimate of two years. Finally, Utah Department of Transportation’s 11400 South; State Street to Bangerter; New I-15 Interchange project, which reconstructed multiple lanes of I-15 and constructed five miles of five-lane urban arterial, received a Transportation Design-Build Merit Award.
DBIA was founded in 1993 and aims to bring together thousands of organizations and individuals that make up the leaders in the design and construction industry utilizing design-build and integrated project delivery methods in order to deliver “high performance projects.”
Additional information on the 2012 National Design-Build Award Winners is available at bit.ly/DBIA2012.