By Jenny Jones and Celeste C.B. Bennett
ASCE recognized a record number of projects this year for its Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Awards. Of the 14 projects noted for exceptional innovations and contributions to society, three stood out to earn top honors: a high-speed rail line that connects two major cities in Florida, a reconstruction effort that streamlines travel through one of New York’s busiest interchanges, and an entertainment venue that pushes the boundaries of experiential design in Las Vegas.
2025 OCEA Award Winner
Brightline Florida East-West Connector
Traveling between Orlando and Miami has never been easier, thanks to the new Brightline East-West Connector. But constructing the line through a dense web of roadways, tight spaces, and site constraints was no simple feat. It required advanced engineering, which included sliding segments of what would become a 604 ft long precast concrete cut-and-cover tunnel under a busy expressway to avoid major traffic disruptions.
Brightline invested $6 billion to extend its network from Orlando International Airport to Miami. Engineering firm HNTB led design of the Connector, which added 38 route mi of track design, 32 bridges, three underpasses, integrated grading and drainage systems, and advanced communications and signal installations.
Opened in September 2023, the line carries trains reaching speeds up to 79 mph in urban areas and 125 mph along rural stretches. The time it takes to travel between Orlando and Miami on the line is comparable to driving — but without the risk of traffic delays. Brightline touts the project as one of the most ambitious rail undertakings in Florida’s history.
Among the project’s toughest challenges was the tunnel under State Road 528, which is near U.S. Route 1 in Cocoa. Traditional tunneling methods would have required closing the busy roadway for more than a year, which simply was not an option. Instead, construction contractor Granite Construction proposed an alternative technical concept: building precast-concrete tunnel segments outside the alignment and then using box jacking — a trenchless method that employs hydraulic jacks — to slide them into place beneath the roadway.
After careful review, Brightline, the Central Florida Expressway Authority, the Florida Department of Transportation, and Florida Transportation Engineering approved the plan. The project team built the three tunnel segments, each weighing around 3,000 to 4,000 tons, alongside SR 528.
From there, the team used a hydraulic box jacking system to slide each segment into place at a rate of about 3 ft per hour. To keep the massive segments moving without disturbing the highway above, the team used an anti-drag system. The method reduced friction and allowed each segment to advance steadily under controlled force.
Italian firm Petrucco, known internationally for its expertise in box jacking, joined the project to oversee this phase. Petrucco continuously monitored ground settlement, tracked alignment, and took precise measurements to ensure that the tunnel remained straight and level throughout the push — an operation that continued unabated until each segment was in place. Once finished, the 31 ft high and 43 ft wide tunnel became the first highway underpass in North America constructed with box jacking under live traffic.
Two additional areas around SR 528 also required unique solutions. The first was near the Narcoossee Road intersection, where the rail line needed to cross the highway at a diagonal. To make room for the crossing, the team worked with CFX to align the roadway’s existing ramps with the rail line, creating the necessary space for bridge superstructure.
Instead of relying on skewed piers, the team designed “100-inch-deep welded steel plate girders spanning up to 137 ft,” according to lead designer HNTB’s entry. They integrated these girders into 122 in. welded-steel box straddle pier caps that extend more than 63 ft over the highway. “This innovative design approach maximized the skew angle of the ramp and rail while allowing the rail bridges to be constructed without skewed substructure elements.”
The second place requiring advanced engineering was near Interstate 95, where the rail line needed to traverse a busy cloverleaf interchange. Initially, the team considered threading the rail line above and through the interchange, but that option would have required five bridges, which would have been time consuming and costly to construct.
Instead, the team worked with FTE to realign SR 528 within the right-of-way and shift traffic to a temporary diversion road built to full roadway standards. This allowed crews to construct the tunnel beneath SR 528 at this location without disrupting traffic, and it also meant that instead of multiple bridges to thread the interchange, only one was needed. According to HNTB, this approach saved Brightline $25 million and more than six months of construction time.
Extending the rail line through Orlando International Airport was also a delicate process. As one of the nation’s busiest airports, it is home to a vast network of critical utilities: power, communication lines, gas, and jet fuel. Because the utilities could not be relocated or altered, the team worked closely with the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority to ensure they were fully protected.
Existing transportation routes added further complexity. Car lanes, automated people movers, taxiways, emergency vehicle paths, and baggage tug roads all had to remain unobstructed. To prevent conflicts, the team engineered 20 grade separations within a 3 mi stretch, including “10 rail curves, 20 spirals, and 15 vertical grade changes,” per the entry. They also relocated two baggage tug roads and one service road.
From the start of the project in June 2019, HNTB and other project team members met with Brightline every week to review each mile of the rail line. These meetings led to design adjustments that reduced time and cost. The result is something rare in the United States — an intercity rail line connecting two major metropolitan areas within one state.
Since the Connector’s debut in 2023, The New York Times reports it has served more than 1 million passengers — a figure Brightline expects to climb to 8 million annually as demand for high-speed train travel grows.
2025 OCEA Silver Award Winner
Kew Gardens Interchange Reconstruction
Four major roadways converge into Kew Gardens Interchange in Queens, New York, creating a tangle so complex it earned the nicknames “The Pretzel” and “The Maze.” But today those monikers feel dated. A reconstruction project streamlined this vital gateway between Manhattan, Long Island, and two of the region’s busiest airports — completed on time, under budget, and without bringing traffic or the surrounding community to a standstill.
When it opened in the 1930s, the interchange tied together Grand Central Parkway, Interboro Parkway (now Jackie Robinson Parkway), and Union Turnpike. The Van Wyck Expressway (Interstate 678) was added in the 1960s, cementing the interchange as one of New York’s most congested crossroads. Over time, traffic swelled to more than 520,000 vehicles a day, creating chronic bottlenecks and safety issues that became fixtures of morning traffic reports.
In 2010, the New York State Department of Transportation brought in H&H (formerly Hardesty & Hanover) and prime contractor ECCO III Enterprises to help fix the problem. (Defoe Corp. and Halmar International LLC were also part of the project during different phases.) Over 12 years or so, the team completely rebuilt the interchange to meet modern safety and operational standards — work that involved expanding capacity, adding a shared pedestrian and bicycle lane, and integrating environmental and structural stability improvements.
Located halfway between LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport, the project involved 22 new bridges, three rehabilitated bridges, numerous lane reconfigurations and ramps, and over 5 lane mi of interconnecting roadways and retaining walls, according to H&H’s entry. To manage the complexity, the team developed a “progressive corridor improvement” plan that divided the work into four phases, each with separate contracts.
According to H&H, which served as lead designer and engineer of record for the first three phases (and owner’s engineer for phase four), this approach offered major advantages. First, it kept the project moving forward while NYSDOT obtained funding for each contract. Second, the method allowed contracts to be awarded as soon as the corresponding design was complete, ensuring that “each contract could be let without accruing significant cost increases due to material and labor cost annual inflation.” Third, the progressive strategy encouraged local contractors to submit competitive bids for the smaller contracts, creating jobs for local communities.
And finally, the phased approach made it possible to meet the project’s most important design criterion: maintaining roadway connectivity throughout construction. The team developed a staged construction scheme that kept I-678 and its associated ramps open throughout the duration of the project and the final phase, during which Halmar, (the general contractor and design-builder) worked with HDR as the lead designer.
The project posed numerous design challenges, particularly with the substructure design. Existing utilities and planned future road realignments — as well as the presence of an active subway station, ventilation building, and substation — all limited options.
To make the designs buildable in such a restricted corridor, the team had to guard against collapse and soil movement. Workers installed 2,500 ft of soldier piles with lagging walls that retained soil up to 30 ft, along with a soil anchor system to reinforce embankments near adjacent properties, per H&H. Engineers also designed two 1,000 ft long jointless deck superstructure spans that traverse Grand Central Parkway. This lessened the number of substructures needed.
The team deployed a few strategies that maintained traffic flow while accelerating progress. A temporary geosynthetic-reinforced soil wall enabled challenging staged construction, and precast Northeast Extreme Tee Beams sped up replacement of the Queens Boulevard bridge over live I-678 travel lanes.
Given the interchange’s importance in the region, long-term sustainability guided the design. The jointless deck superstructure obviated the need for deck joints, a common source of deterioration, while stainless-steel reinforcement will minimize chloride corrosion. Girders made from weathering steel that will never need repainting and at-grade sections that replaced existing bridge sections will ensure maintenance costs stay low, simplify inspections, and reduce construction expenses.
Environmental performance was equally critical. Along the southbound Van Wyck Expressway, a bioswale rain garden naturally filters sediment before runoff reaches Willow Lake in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Hydrodynamic separators add another layer of water quality treatment, and enhanced drainage capacity reduces the risk of puddling and flooding.
Other sustainable features include energy-efficient LED roadway lighting as well as highly reflective signs that do not need any illumination. Native plants along the roadways and a unique type of grass that does not need to be cut beautify the area.
Work to streamline the complex interchange finished on schedule in June 2022. Officials had projected it would cost $759.8 million, but the final total came in at $747.3 million. H&H credits extensive coordination with city, state, and federal agencies, as well as the community, for the project’s success.
The revamped interchange now meets present-day safety standards, with improved roads, merging points, and stopping sight distances. And a new dedicated shared-use path significantly enhances pedestrian and cyclist safety. For commuters, the improvements mean faster travel times, safer movement, and better connectivity, H&H wrote.
2025 OCEA Bronze Award Winner
Sphere
Nevada’s Las Vegas Strip is packed with flashy entertainment venues, but none rival the city’s newest landmark: Sphere. Located just east of the Strip, Sphere is built from separate, layered steel and concrete structural systems. This massive building — 366 ft tall and 516 ft wide — is among the largest semi-spherical structures in the world and also one of the most expensive in Las Vegas history at $2.3 billion.
Sphere, which opened in September 2023, features a striking 580,000 sq ft “outer latticed grid shell,” dubbed the Exosphere, which is a self-supporting structure that stands as an engineering feat all on its own. Severud Associates Consulting Engineers began the design process with a classic Buckminster Fuller-style geodesic dome as the template.
After an iterative design process, Severud devised a framework of “14 horizontal continuous ring members and 32 pairs of crisscrossing diagonal geodesic elements, continuous between the base and a ring near the crown,” per Severud’s entry. The topmost part of the Exosphere, known as the Oculus, is framed radially, completing the spherical form. The result is a system of prefabricated pieces that were shipped, lifted, and assembled with precision — turning a complex geometry into a practical, constructible solution.
Next, the team turned its attention to the Exosphere’s node connection details. Engineers initially considered fabricated nodes, but these would have required larger welds, raising concerns about heat distortion and constructability. Instead, the team chose custom cast steel nodes that are 40% lighter. Because the castings are identical, tolerances were not an issue; minor length variations were resolved with shims.
The Exosphere was built ring by ring, starting with a cantilevered foundation ring, which was bolted into place. That ring then supported the framing of the next ring, which supported the framing of the next, and so on. Once all the rings were set, the team lifted the Oculus into place as a single unit. With virtually no shoring, the team streamlined the process and significantly reduced construction costs, Severud wrote.
The Exosphere is just one of the venue’s layers. The lowest layered structural system starts at the foundation, which is made up of cast-in-place concrete piles 24 in. in diameter, per the entry. Most of these piles interconnect with concrete grade beams, and for support, concrete mats were used. “From the ground to the fifth level, the building is framed with concrete slabs, beams, and columns. From the fifth level to the roof, the building is framed with structural steel.”
Raker beams support the seating structure, carrying precast concrete stadia. Four concrete shear wall cores and surrounding stage walls provide lateral stability for the entire venue, while two composite concrete-and-steel girders traverse the stage, Severud wrote.
Above the theater is a 400 ft diameter steel-framed dome that was engineered to “optimize (the dome’s) depth and the number of radial arches and compression rings,” according to the entry. Prefabricated half-arches, intermediate framing, and temporary tie rods were installed between perimeter columns and a central shoring tower. Once assembled, a “10-inch-thick concrete slab on metal deck — placed by shotcreting where steeply sloped — provides permanent stability and acoustic damping.”
Multiple concourses circle the seating bowl and are part of the dome’s framing. Their purpose is twofold: collecting the lateral loads and delivering those loads to cores and stage walls, according to Severud. The roof for the concourses acts as a tension ring that resists the dome’s thrust. The team engineered the column connections to allow radial movement of the roof under normal conditions and restrain it during seismic events, adding resilience.
Inside the dome, tolerances had to be even tighter than for the exterior. The 160,000 sq ft media plane — Sphere’s high-resolution LED surface that creates its immersive experience — required painstaking precision. The grillage system, suspended from the dome only, provides the transition from dome geometry to the media plane, with jacks and clips that fine-tuned alignment.
Sphere’s exterior walls are clad in standing-seam metal panels and are held fast by curved steel mullions and girts that follow the Exosphere’s profile. Concourse slabs brace each mullion laterally, and slip connections at the third level brace each mullion vertically while allowing the floors to move independently, per the entry.
Beyond the main venue, the project includes a distinct “collar” structure that contains back-of-house facilities and a 1,200 ft serpentine pedestrian bridge. Both are isolated from the Exosphere to preserve structural independence. Although Sphere is made up of distinct structural systems, they function together to create a cohesive structure. Sophisticated computer analyses accounted for every gravity, lateral, and thermal load.
The team considered sustainability throughout design and construction. Engineers used parametric structural optimization to minimize material use while maintaining strength. The approach reduced the tonnage of the Exosphere and the roof dome.
Sustainability goals shaped material choices across the project. In addition to the lighter cast steel nodes, reinforcement came from nearly 100% recycled steel and structural steel framing contained more than 90% recycled content. Operational sustainability goals were ambitious as well, Severud wrote. Sphere plans to source about 70% of its electricity from solar power facilities, and all interior and exterior lighting uses some of the most energy-efficient LED systems on the market.
Over five years of careful collaboration, Sphere’s designers and builders delivered more than just a performance space. They created an immersive landmark that pushes the boundaries of structural engineering and redefines what an entertainment venue can be.
2025 OCEA Honor Awards
Project: Bois d'Arc Lake Program, Bonham, Texas
Engineer of record: Multiple engineers
Summary: The Bois d’Arc Lake Program includes a 2 mi long earthen dam, a 16,641-acre reservoir, a treatment plant that cleans up to 70 million gal. of water per day, two pump stations, and 60 mi of underground pipelines for raw and treated water. The project achieves long-term water security for more than 70 cities via the treatment plant’s storage reservoir, which has a three-day water capacity. Crews planted 6.3 million trees, created wildlife habitats with existing site timber, sourced clay and materials from the building site, and restored or improved almost 70 mi of streams.
Project: Denver Water Northwater Treatment Plant, Golden, Colorado
Engineer of record: Multiple engineers
Summary: Denver Water’s North System Renewal Program includes the Northwater Treatment Plant, a 183-acre facility that can treat 75 million gal. of water per day, with possible expansion to 150 million gal. per day. Long-term, the plant will serve 1.5 million people using hydroturbine electricity derived from influent pressure from neighboring Ralston Reservoir. This will enable the plant to be an annual net-energy producer. The plant's main structures were built into a hillside to reduce heating and cooling needs and create landscape integration. Despite COVID-19 setbacks, the project was finished under budget.
Project: East Side Access, New York City
Engineer of record: General Engineering Consultants (a tri-venture between WSP USA, STV, and Parsons Corp.)
Summary: The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Long Island Rail Road has expanded its commuter rail system, connecting New York City and Long Island. A new terminal, built underneath Grand Central Terminal, doubles LIRR’s capacity to transport riders to and from the city. Four new tunnels in Queens and eight in Manhattan constitute the new track. In the city itself, the project employed an innovative process: the new Austrian tunneling method/sequential excavation method coupled with ground freezing. Additional track and “grade-separated routes” were added at Harold Interlocking — the country’s busiest railroad junction, and a point where LIRR and Amtrak trains run through — which improved operational efficiency.
Project: Glass City Metropark, Toldeo, Ohio
Engineer of record: Emily McKinnon, P.E., M.ASCE
Summary: Glass City Metropark is a sustainable and accessible park with a 3,200 linear ft bioengineered shoreline on the east bank of the Maumee River. A former industrial site, the project includes trails, a new marina and pavilion, a park, a water play area, an event lawn, a restaurant, and more. The project also addresses sustainability issues such as soil contamination, flood conditions, and bank stabilization. A 9,000 sq ft offshore island supports wetland habitats and is “enhanced with native plantings, mud-puppy structures, spawning beds, and woody debris,” according to SmithGroup’s entry. Protected areas for kayaking and coastal education are included in the final landscape.
Project: Northeast Transmission Line, Houston
Engineer of record: Multiple engineers
Summary: The city of Houston has secured clean water for its residents and simultaneously reduced groundwater pumping through the Northeast Transmission Line. It brings water from the Northeast Water Purification Plant to North Houston via a 16.5 mi route and provides redundancy for water-desperate areas. The project used innovative methods and materials for the valves, crotch plates, and pipe fittings. The line prioritized protection of wetlands, birds, and trees. Design and construction included 13 separate segments to manage space constraints and cost.
Project: Omaha Riverfront Revitalization, Omaha, Nebraska
Engineer of record: Chris Koenig, P.E.
Summary: Omaha’s underutilized downtown has been transformed into a 72-acre amenity-filled set of parks that boasts open lawns, a skate “ribbon,” an urban beach, art spaces, playgrounds, a towering pier, an entertainment district, and multimodal transportation along the Missouri River. The project, built partially atop a historic lead refinery, employed a geosynthetic clay liner to cap the refinery’s contaminants. The site is surrounded by over 80 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic places. Parks feature iconic city structures such as sculptures, war monuments, benches, and an 1880s stone arch.
Project: Perelman Performing Arts Center, New York City
Engineer of record: Leif Johnson, P.E., S.E., LEED AP
Summary: New York City’s Perelman Performing Arts Center features three connected “floating” boxes that morph into 11 different theater and seating configurations with the help of retractable, acoustically isolated “guillotine” walls. Because the venue was built on a previously designed and constructed foundation, engineers had to identify and creatively install load-bearing supports to accommodate the various configurations. Seven above-grade “super columns” support the above-grade structure, and a “full-building-height triangulated steel frame” provides flexibility for various span sizes, per the entry.
Project: Project 11: Houston Ship Channel Expansion, Segments 1-2, Houston
Engineer of record: Ashley Judith, P.E., BC.NE, M.ASCE, and Chester Hedderman, P.E., RPLS, M.ASCE, a joint venture of AECOM and GBA
Summary: The Port of Houston’s Houston Ship Channel is one of America’s most difficult channels to navigate due to its narrow and meandering nature. The project will increase the channel’s width from 530 ft to 700 ft and deepen its waters, improving safety and efficiency for the busiest waterway in the United States. Because the port is the biggest container port in the Gulf of Mexico, enhancement projects will enable its more than 9,000 vessels (as of 2018) to carry supplies, generating hundreds of billions of dollars ($802 billion as of 2018) in revenue for years to come.
Project: Regional Connector Transit Project, Los Angeles
Engineer of record: Zsolt Horvath, P.E.
Summary: A ride on the 2 mi long Los Angeles Regional Connector links the L, A, and E lines from Azusa, California, to Long Beach, and from East LA to Santa Monica. The project reduces train changes to a single transfer and saves up to 20 minutes. The project navigated the underground subway, sewer and water lines, and bridge caissons, monitoring ground loss and settlement. Space constraints necessitated creativity to keep traffic moving above during construction. The connector ultimately gives LA residents a more attractive and environmentally friendly public transit option.
Project: Sterling Natural Resource Center, San Bernardino, California
Engineer of record: Peter Tymkiw, P.E.
Summary: Sterling Natural Resource Center is a nine-acre, LEED Silver-equivalent wastewater management facility. It has the capacity to recycle up to 8 million gal. of water per day and is expected to recycle around 3.65 billion gal. of water per year, which will become groundwater replenishment to aid long-term water resilience. The facility produces some of its own electricity and reduces its carbon emissions by co-digesting wastewater sludge and food waste. Additionally, the facility hosts tours and has a training center for students to learn about resource management.
Project: Two Manhattan West, New York City
Engineer of record: Charles Besjak, P.E., M.ASCE
Summary: Two Manhattan West is a complex 962 ft tall glass structure that sits atop subway tracks in Midtown Manhattan. Because of this, only half of its concrete core area (for the lateral support system) was usable at ground level, forcing engineers to innovate and use a lighter steel and a novel outrigger system. Constructed near Moynihan Train Hall and Penn Station, it is easily accessible by Amtrak and Long Island Rail Road riders. The mixed-use building, along with the other buildings in its complex, is powered 100% by renewable energy.
Jenny Jones is an award-winning freelance writer based in northern Virginia. She has more than 20 years of editorial experience and specializes in making complex subjects clear and engaging.
Celeste C.B. Bennett is the writer/editor for Civil Engineering magazine.
This article first appeared in the November/December 2025 issue of Civil Engineering.
**Interested in submitting your project for next year? For submission requirements and other details, visit the Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award page.**
