The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) gave a GeoEngineers project its 2018 President’s Transportation Award in the Environment category. A GeoEngineers team led by Braydan DuRee (Boise) contributed geotechnical services to the winning Big Wood River Bridge project near Sun Valley, Idaho. The project team received the award at the 2018 AASHTO Annual Meeting in Atlanta on September 23.
The project began when the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) needed to upgrade the SH-75 bridge over the Big Wood River. The aging two-lane bridge was too small to accommodate ITD’s road widening plans. ITD hired GeoEngineers to supplement a previously completed geotechnical investigation for the bridge and provide further design recommendations for new mechanically stabilized earth retaining walls and pavement design.
Designers planned for a four-span concrete girder bridge with two 90- foot interior spans, plus two 30-foot “jump” spans to allow wildlife to pass under the bridge on both sides of the river—one of a number of environmentally friendly features that earned the project this award.
Read the full project profile for more about GeoEngineers’ contributions to this award-winning bridge.
