Firm is involved with 13 projects recognized as winners at “Academy Awards” of engineering industry
LOS ANGELES (June 13, 2023) – HNTB Corporation received the Grand Conceptor award from the American Council of Engineering Companies for the Sixth Street Viaduct Replacement. The Grand Conceptor is awarded at the ACEC’s annual Engineering Excellence Awards Gala to the project that signifies the nation’s top engineering achievement.
The design of the new Sixth Street bridge, dubbed as “The Ribbon of Light,” was created by HNTB and Los Angeles architect Michael Maltzan. The design was selected by the Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering through an international design competition. Construction was led by contractors Skanska/Stacy and Witbeck, a joint venture.
Serving as both architect-of-record and engineer-of-record for the decade-long project, HNTB was responsible for the design of the 3,500-foot-long viaduct, connecting the historic Boyle Heights neighborhood to the downtown Arts District. The original bridge was often used in countless movies, music videos and TV commercials, including riverbed car chases.
From among dozens of winners, HNTB was involved with 13 recognized projects at the event, known as the “Academy Awards” of the engineering industry:
Grand Award
- City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering — Sixth Street Viaduct Replacement Project
- District Department of Transportation – Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge
- Iowa Department of Transportation and Illinois Department of Transportation – I-74 Corridor over the Mississippi River
Honor Awards
- Maine Department of Transportation — I-295 over Veranda Street Bridge Replacement Project
- MTA Bridges and Tunnels — VN-84AX Reconstruction & Rehabilitation of Upper Approach at the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge
National Recognition Awards:
- Kansas Department of Transportation — Advancing Kansas’ Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Vision
- Virginia Department of Transportation — North Glebe Road over Pimmit Run – Bridge Rehabilitation
- City of Olathe, Kansas — I-35 & 119th Street Interchange Reconfiguration
- Ohio Department of Transportation – Opportunity Corridor
- Metro Transit — METRO Orange Line BRT
- Wisconsin Department of Transportation — Madison Beltline Flex Lane
- New Jersey Turnpike Authority — Emergency Repairs TPK Interchange 7 Ramp over Route 206
- Florida Department of Transportation – I-4 Ultimate Improvement Project
“HNTB is extremely proud to have played a role in each of these award-winning projects, and to bring home the Grand Conceptor is a career-defining achievement. Our firm works collaboratively every day with our clients and partners to deliver infrastructure solutions that solve challenging and complex problems and connect communities,” said John Barton, PE, senior vice president for HNTB and chair of professional services. “For all of us at the firm, and especially the teams and clients responsible for delivering these impressive projects, ACEC’s industry-wide recognition is high praise and a meaningful honor.”