FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2016
Contact: Darrel Berry, Marketing Communications Manager
Hanson Professional Services Inc.
(217) 747-9291
dberry@hanson-inc.com
Alaska’s Tanana River Bridge honored as a finalist for ASCE’s Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement award
The Tanana River Bridge in Salcha, Alaska, was recognized as one of six finalists for the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement (OCEA) award.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Tanana River Bridge in Salcha, Alaska, was recognized as one of six finalists for the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement (OCEA) award during ASCE’s annual Outstanding Projects and Leaders Gala, March 17, in Arlington, Virginia. Hanson Professional Services Inc. designed the 3,300-foot-long bridge.
According to ASCE, the award “honors the project that best illustrates superior civil engineering skills and represents a significant contribution to civil engineering progress and society. Honoring an overall project rather than an individual, the award celebrates the contributions of many engineers.”
“It was a privilege to be recognized as a finalist for ASCE’s distinguished OCEA award. Hanson is proud of its efforts on this project. We’re grateful for the opportunity to work with our client, the Alaska Railroad Corp., and an outstanding project team to design and build Alaska’s longest bridge on time and under budget. This bridge was about building connections for our client, the U.S. military and the people of Alaska,” said Sergio “Satch” Pecori, P.E., Hanson’s president and CEO. The project delivery team included HDR Alaska Inc. and contractor Kiewit Infrastructure West Co.
The bridge is the first phase of the Alaska Railroad Corp.’s Northern Rail Extension, a project that will create an 80-mile railway between North Pole, Alaska, and Delta Junction, Alaska. The extension will provide a safer, all-weather transportation option and give the military improved, year-round access to a one-million-acre training range south of the Tanana River. Hanson has been providing design engineering services since 2006 for the four-phase extension project, including hydraulic and structural engineering services and addressing geotechnical, hydraulic and seismic issues for the bridge.
At 3,300 feet, the bridge is the state’s longest and is designed to serve roadway and railroad traffic with a single bimodal deck. The 20-span bridge was built for $187 million — $1 million under budget — and on time, with a three-year construction process. The designers had to account for wind, water pressure, scouring, sheet ice, ice jams and severe flooding in an area with a broad flood plain. The bridge crosses the glacier-fed, braided Tanana River at a remote site in an area with active and potentially active seismic faults and temperatures that range from occasional highs near 90 degrees to lows near 70 below zero. During construction, piles for the bridge were driven and concrete was placed at 20 below zero in the winter. Ice flows and damming during ice breakup in the spring required the construction causeway and temporary bridging to be removed and replaced.
For more information about this year’s winner, Vietnam’s Dragon Bridge, and the other five finalists and to view videos about the projects, visit ASCE’s website at http://bit.ly/1UaIOGe.
Hanson is a national, employee-owned consulting firm providing engineering, planning and allied services. The firm’s corporate headquarters is located at 1525 S. Sixth St., Springfield, IL 62703. The office may be reached by phone at (217) 788-2450.
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