Jason Dixson Photography ASCE honored Brightline Florida: East-West Connector, the only U.S. privately owned and operated intercity railroad, with the 2025 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award, Oct. 10, at the OPAL Gala in Seattle.
“I am deeply proud of my team,” said HNTB’s John Hornbeck, project manager and engineer of record, admitting surprise onstage as he received the award ASCE has given to the best project of the year annually since 1960.
“I celebrate with you and ASCE this tremendous nod for Brightline and HNTB and the long and winding road – or should I say rail – was worth it.”
The East-West connector portion of the Brightline Florida project provides rail transit between Cocoa, Florida, on the Atlantic coast, and the Orlando International Airport in the middle of the state.
“I think the best part about the project was, over a decade, being able to bring to life Brightline’s vision of solving those trips that were too far to drive but not long enough to fly; to revolutionize transit in Florida,” Hornbeck said. “And the decade of hard work came to fruition at the opening. We’re thrilled for Brightline and happy HNTB was a part of it.”
Brightline was one of 14 projects recognized with OCEA Honor Awards at the OPAL Gala. The Kew Gardens Interchange Reconstruction in Queens, New York, received the OCEA Silver Award. Sphere in Las Vegas earned the OCEA Bronze Award.
Remarkably, Hornbeck’s personal OCEA vision goes back to 1992. He was a senior at Duke University, and, one day came across a copy of Civil Engineering magazine in the engineering library.
“I vividly remember scanning the issue and looking at the tremendous projects that were being honored that year,” Hornbeck said. “That inspired me. I thought to myself, ‘Wow, what it must feel like to have a project honored at that level, to be on that list.’”
Friday night, 33 years later, he made that list.
Jason Dixson Photography OPAL winners
The OPAL Gala’s namesake award is the Outstanding Project and Leaders Award, given each year for achievement in each of five categories: construction, design, education, government, and management.
This year’s OPAL winner for management was Eva Lerner-Lam, celebrating the extraordinarily rare daily double of joining the ranks of ASCE distinguished membership and the OPAL award in the same year (in her case, literally on back-to-back days).
“I’ve attended half a dozen other OPAL Award dinners,” Lerner-Lam said. “And I would sit there looking at the award winners, wondering, ‘How can they achieve all that they have achieved in one lifetime?’
“So I have to just keep pinching myself ever since I got the notification that I was one of the winners. I still have a very difficult time believing that I'm up on that stage too.
“My mom and dad were Chinese immigrants to New York in 1947 and 1948. I hope they can feel my appreciation for what they did for me. I’ve lived my life truly to try to earn their respect and make all of their sacrifices worthwhile.”
Construction: Beatrice Hunt, P.E., M.ASCE; principal hydraulic engineer, AECOM, New York City – for 35 years of innovation, leadership, teaching, and advancing hydraulics and scour engineering.
Design: Lawrence Griffis, P.E., F.SEI, M.ASCE; senior consultant, Walter P. Moore, Houston – for structural engineering expertise with particular accomplishment as a pioneer in the design of retractable roof technology for major sports stadiums.
Education: Rafael L. Bras, Sc.D, Dist.M.ASCE; K. Harrison Brown Family Chair, Georgia Institute of Technology – for renowned contributions and advancements to civil engineering education and noted advocate for underrepresented communities in STEM.
Government: Rao Surampalli, Ph.D., P.E., BCEE, BC.WRE(Hon.), F.EWRI, NAC, Dist.M.ASCE; president, CEO, and chief technology officer, Global Institute for Energy, Environment and Sustainability, Lenexa, Kansas – for more than 40 years of leadership in developing innovative and sustainable environmental technology.
Management: Eva Lerner-Lam, NAE, Dist.M.ASCE; founder and president, Palisades Consulting, Tenafly, New Jersey; for seminal contributions to transit planning and policy, and transportation systems around the world.
Learn more about each of the 14 projects that earned 2025 OCEA Honor Awards.
