Flatiron Infrastructure Projects Win Numerous Awards for Design and Construction

LONGMONT, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Flatiron, one of the nation's largest transportation and infrastructure contractors, has been recognized with eight industry awards for infrastructure projects, including the Best Overall Award from the Design-Build Institute of America for rebuilding the new I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis after the old bridge collapsed in 2007.

The I-35W Bridge project, recipient of more than 20 industry awards to date, was again recognized with the Design-Build Institute of America’s Best Overall Award, beating 12 other nationally recognized projects, during an awards ceremony at the 2009 Design-Build Conference on November 6 in Washington, D.C.

“This is the top award in the nation for design-build projects, and we thank the DBIA for recognizing our team’s hard work,” said Flatiron’s Peter Sanderson, who as project manager helped deliver the replacement bridge in just 14 months.

The I-35W project team, which included the Federal Highway Administration, the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Flatiron, Manson Construction Company and Figg Bridge Engineers, was also recognized with the prestigious David Schulz Award given by Northwestern University’s Infrastructure Technology Institute.

“We thought this example of fast tracking in a critical situation and of producing this spectacular bridge with features on the 21st century merited this recognition,” wrote Joseph Schofer, Associate Dean of the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University. The project team accepted the award during an annual symposium on campus on November 2.

The project also won the 2009 America’s Transportation Awards Grand Prize winner, given by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. The 10 projects that scored the highest during four regional contests competed for the Grand Prize.

According to AASHTO, this competition recognizes outstanding transportation projects in three categories: on time, on budget, and innovative management.

As Flatiron’s third project to win an American Public Works Association Project of the Year Award in 2009, the Lake Hodges Bicycle/Pedestrian Bridge in San Diego, Calif., was recognized for its unusual design and construction methods. At 990 feet long, it is the longest stress-ribbon bridge in the world and the sixth bridge of its kind in the United States. This project also recently received the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute’s Design Award for “versatility of precast concrete systems and the innovative ways in which designers continue to leverage the advantages of precast concrete to meet real-world design requirements,” according to James G. Toscas, P.E., PCI president.

In Los Gatos, Calif., the Lenihan Dam Outlet project was selected to receive the American Society of Civil Engineers 2009 Outstanding Project award from the San Francisco Section. This two-year project required construction of a new 2,000-foot tunnel to house a 54-inch-diameter outlet pipe. The award was presented during the Annual Meeting on September 25 in Burlingame, Calif.

Flatiron, with a construction volume of $1.04 billion in 2008, is one of the leading providers of transportation construction and civil engineering in North America. Its core competencies include major bridge, highway, and rail projects. Flatiron also operates as a contractor in public-private partnership projects. Founded in 1947, the firm is a subsidiary of HOCHTIEF, one of the world's leading international construction service providers. Further information is available at www.flatironcorp.com.

HOCHTIEF is one of the leading international providers of construction-related services. With more than 64,000 employees and a sales volume of EUR 19.10 billion in FY 2008, the company is represented in all the world‘s major markets. The Group's service offering in the fields of development, construction, services, concessions and operation covers the entire life cycle of infrastructure projects, real estate and facilities. In the USA, the biggest construction market in the world, HOCHTIEF is the No. 1 general builder via its subsidiary Turner and, with Group company Flatiron, ranks among the most important players in the field of transportation infrastructure construction. With its subsidiary Leighton (HOCHTIEF share around 55 percent), the group is market leader in Australia. Because of its engagement for sustainability, HOCHTIEF has been listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes since 2006. Further information is available at www.hochtief.com/press.

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