Parsons celebrates AASHTO Awards for Innovation, Excellence and Community
Parsons is pleased to announce that the Columbia I-70 Bridges in Missouri as well as the Ohio River Bridges East End Crossing and the U.S. 31 Hamilton County project, both in Indiana, recently received regional America’s Transportation Awards from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Recognized in the mid-America region representing Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin, the projects will now be considered for entry into AASHTO’s competition for its top two national prizes: the Grand Prize (selected by a panel of judges) and the People’s Choice Award (decided by online popular vote).
“We congratulate the Indiana and Missouri Departments of Transportation on their foresight and commitment to their communities as represented by these prestigious awards,” said Mike Johnson, Parsons Group President. “We are honoured to have contributed our expertise to these exceptional projects.”
The Columbia I-70 Bridges design-build project won in the Best Use of Technology and Innovation category for small projects. Parsons was the lead designer on this $18 million project, which involved replacing six deficient bridges with five new weathering steel-plate girder bridges. To maintain the 80,000+-vehicle-per-day traffic on I‑70 during construction, three of the bridges were built using slide-in bridge technology. Parsons’ innovative new interchange designs were also noted, including the conversion of the Range Line/I-70 interchange from a signalized diamond interchange to a dog-bone configuration, which consists of two tear-shaped roundabouts that join together to form a single roundabout. The Business Loop/I-70 interchange was improved with dual-lane roundabouts.
The Ohio River Bridges East End Crossing project—which includes the new Lewis and Clark Bridge—was recognized in the Quality of Life/Community Development category—large project division. The Indiana Department of Transportation’s (INDOT’s) $763 million public-private partnership (P3) project connects the east end of Louisville, KY, with Southern Indiana via a 2,300-ft-long cable-stayed bridge with a pedestrian and bicycle path, 8 mi of new-terrain highway, and a 1,700-ft twin-bore tunnel under a historic property. Parsons was the lead partner in the Community Transportation Solutions joint venture that served as INDOT’s general engineering consultant for the overall project.
In addition, Parsons was the technical advisor for implementing the East End Crossing P3, which consisted of developing, designing, constructing, financing, operating, and maintaining the bridge and its approaches in both Indiana and Kentucky. In 2016 the project received the Envision™ Platinum certification for sustainability, making it the first bridge, first bi-state project, and one of the largest projects at the time to receive this certification.
INDOT’s U.S. 31 Hamilton County project was the winner in the Operations Excellence category—large project division. The $350 million project, completed in summer 2016, upgraded 13 miles of existing U.S. 31 between I‑465 and S.R. 38 in Hamilton County, IN, including 11 new interchanges. A total of 13 traffic signals were removed from the segment, reducing travel time and the risk of crashes along the corridor. Although construction began in 2011, several prior years were spent conducting open houses and group presentations to prepare local businesses for construction. Parsons was instrumental in these communication efforts and also performed environmental assessment work on the project.
America’s Transportation Awards is sponsored by AASHTO, the American Automobile Association, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
