The new Coast Meridian Overpass in Port Coquitlam is garnering awards for the city of Port Coquitlam and International Bridge Technologies (IBT), a member of the CMO design-build team.
The 580-metre-long cable-stayed bridge has received its fourth honour - a National Recognition Award in the structural systems category of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) 2012 Engineering Excellence Awards.
IBTsubmitted the nomination after receiving an Honour Award last fall from the California branch of the ACEC 2012 Engineering Excellence Awards.
"We're thrilled to receive further recognition for a project that has made such a difference in how we move around our city," Mayor Greg Moore said. "This is a great example of the excellence that can be achieved by a government project. The innovation and quality that's winning awards across North America will benefit our community for generations to come."
The National Recognition Award is a prestigious distinction that honours projects that do not win an Honor or Grand Award, but still demonstrate exceptional achievement in engineering.
In addition to the two U.S.-based awards, the $135 million CMO has received both a national award in Canada (an Award of Excellence in the transportation category of the 2011 Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards) and a B.C. award (Award of Merit in Engineering Excellence in the transportation category of the Consulting Engineers of British Columbia Awards).
The city's largest-ever transportation project, the CMO opened in March 2010 after a two-year construction period. It spans the Canadian Pacific Railway yards with four travel lanes, sidewalk and bicycle lanes and has significantly improved traffic flow in the community. Funding partners for the project included TransLink, the Province of BC (Bike BC Program) and ICBC (2009 Road Safety Program).
Noted engineering accomplishments related to the CMO include:
Longest push-launch in North America: one at a time, five sections weighing up to 1,500 tonnes were inched into place with hydraulic jacks and rollers, secured by cables attached to the 25-metre-tall steel pylons. The largest section was 125 metres long.
Ingenuity and complexity of cable-stayed design: allowed for a two-metre reduction in the depth of the steel beams.
IBT will accept the award at a black-tie gala in Washington D.C. in April on the City's behalf.
Visit www.portcoquitlam.ca/cmo for more information about the CMO.
