ASCE’s Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement award – the OCEA – has recognized exemplary civil engineering projects every year since 1960.
This year, ASCE celebrates nine stellar projects as OCEA Honor Award recipients. These nine projects will be showcased during the ASCE 2021 Convention, Oct. 8 in Chicago. From the group of nine, two runners-up and the OCEA winner will be announced at the event.
Here are the 2021 OCEA Honor Award projects:
Union Pacific Railroad, A Moving Mud Spring Threatens Critical Infrastructure
Imperial County, California
The Union Pacific Railroad deployed innovative tactics to study an unprecedented mobile mud spring, mitigate its effects, and keep trains fully operational.
Chase Center at Thrive City
San Francisco
The centerpiece of the San Francisco Mission Bay District transformation, the 1,740,000-square-foot mega-development includes an 18,000-seat NBA arena, Golden State Warriors team headquarters, office towers, and retail outlets.
Coastal Wall at Northwestern University Ryan Fieldhouse and Walter Athletics Center
Evanston, Illinois
The double recurved coastal wall provides a buffer between Northwestern’s new athletic center and Lake Michigan, mitigates wave energy from the lake and guards the building against wave forces, freezing spray, and ice rubbling.
Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge
Westchester and Rockland counties, New York
One of the largest single design-build transportation contracts in the United States, the $3.98 billion bridge replaces the old Tappan Zee Bridge with a 3.1-mile, state-of-the-art twin span across the Hudson River.
Lake Mead Intake No. 3 Low Lake Level Pumping Station & Discharge Aqueducts
Boulder City, Nevada
The pumping station features the world’s largest flow capacity and deepest submersible pumps, providing southern Nevada with vital water resources in the face of decades-long drought in the Colorado River Basin.
Metro North Railroad Bridge Over Atlantic Street
Stamford, Connecticut
The first railroad bridge replacement on the New Haven Line in Connecticut to use accelerated bridge construction techniques, the new structure carries six railroad tracks serving more than 125,000 daily commuters.
Moscone Convention Center Expansion
San Francisco
The renovated and expanded convention center uses transparent and translucent materials to bring a luminous presence to Howard Street in San Francisco.
Niagara Falls State Park Transformation Initiative
Niagara Falls, New York
The transformation features more than 16 full-scale, interconnected projects across 400-plus acres, giving visitors a more intimate view of Niagara Falls.
Permanent Canal Closures and Pumps (PCCP)
New Orleans
The $690 million design-build project was the final piece of the massive Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction system started in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to improve New Orleans’ resilience.
The Society will honor this year’s OCEA Honor Award projects at the ASCE 2021 Convention, Oct. 8, in Chicago. Watch for profiles of each winner in the weeks leading to the convention.
