The rapid repair of the Brent Spence Bridge following a fiery crash involving two semi trucks in November 2020 leading to a six-week closure has received two more awards.
The aging and structurally obsolete span connects Covington and Cincinnati by way of Interstates 71 and 75.
Its closure in the fall of 2020 disrupted local traffic and national traffic flow.
But the emergency response to repairing it saw the project completed more quickly than originally planned as well as under budget.
Governor Andy Beshear announced Wednesday that the project was recognized by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) with its 2022 Engineering Excellence Awards, described as the Academy Awards of the engineering industry.
It was also named among the “Best of the Best” award-winners in the bridge and highway category from Engineering News-Records, an industry publication.
On November 11, 2020, two semitrailers collided and burned, charring a significant portion of the bridge.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet assembled a project team, including consulting engineers from Stantec and Michael Baker International, and a construction contractor, Kokosing Construction Co.
The goal was to have the bridge repaired and reopened by December 23.
It reopened a day earlier than that.
“No one was thinking about future awards at the time. Everyone was focused on getting a bridge that’s critical to our commerce and in the day-to-day lives of our people repaired and reopened as quickly as possible,” Beshear said in an announcement. “Still, it’s rewarding to have their work singled out as exemplary. And now, together with our partners in Ohio, we’re equally focused on building a companion bridge alongside the Brent Spence.”
KYTC Secretary Jim Gray said in the announcement that the ACEC and ENR awards were “a great credit to our very innovative engineers and a host of partners, all of whom worked day and night to restore one of the most important river crossings in the eastern United States.”
The emergency repair has also been named a “Project of the Year” by the American Public Works Association and one of the nation’s top 12 transportation projects in the annual America’s Transportation Awards competition held by AAA, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.