The winners were selected based on creativity, functionality, and economy by a jury of three prominent bridge professionals: Benjamin Tang, Senior Structural Engineer, Federal Highway Administration, Washington D.C. Edward Wasserman, Civil Engineering Director – Structures, Tennessee Department of Transportation, Nashville, Tennessee Frederick Gottemoeller, Principal, Rosales Gottemoeller & Associates, Inc. Columbia, Maryland. All winning entries will receive an Award of Excellence at the American Concrete Institute Awards Program to be held in March 2003 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Truckee River Bridge and Overhead
Truckee, California
Nestled in the Truckee Basin between the Sierra Nevada mountains to the west and the Carson Range to the east, this 1,525-ft (465-m) long, 7-span bridge features a cast-in-place post-tensioned box girder structure.

The depth of the superstructure with a maximum span of 233 ft (71 m) ranges from 7 ft, 7 in. (2.3 m) at the mid-span to 15 ft (4.57 m) at the piers. The artful proportioning of the bridge is achieved by 9 ft, 6 in. (2.9 m) deck overhangs, out of a total deck width of 42 ft, 8 in. (13 m) and bi-directional parabolic flaring of 9-ft (2.75-m) square columns to create an arch-like effect.

To combat the harsh winter environment and extend the service life of the bridge, the designers chose high performance concrete, epoxy coated reinforcement, and a polymer concrete overlay.

Project Principals:
Caltrans District 3, owner;
Caltrans, Division of Engineering Services,, engineer;
Caltrans, Bridge Architecture and Aesthetics Branch, architect;
MCM Construction Inc. and Ladd and Associates, Inc., contractors;
Truckee North Tahoe Materials, Inc., concrete supplier.

Jury Comments: This is a terrific example of how to accomplish a lot with very simple elements. Assemble just the right shapes, give them just the right proportions, and the effect is an extremely elegant bridge that fits its environment very well.