LOS ANGELES, CA — HNTB was part of the team honored with Project of the Year from the California Transportation Foundation for the Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Project. The project was one of four winners announced in advance of the 32nd Annual CTF Transportation Awards. Fourteen additional winners were announced during the recent virtual event.

“It is an honor for HNTB to be recognized with team members for bringing the Gerald Desmond Bridge to the people of Southern California,” said Semyon Treyger, PE, SE, HNTB Vice President and Northwest Division Bridge Practice Leader and Bridge Design Manager for the project. “Thanks to insightful and collaborative efforts and application of technical excellence, this bridge has become a shining example of progress for the region and a model for other cities around the world.”

The CTF Transportation Awards recognized excellence in California transportation in 2020, all modes, public and private sector, and from all regions of the state.

HNTB originally was hired by the Port of Long Beach to study and develop alternatives leading to the first vehicular cable-stayed bridge in California. It was envisioned as the first signature span bridge in the region and an iconic bridge for Long Beach. HNTB performed conceptual and preliminary design and owner’s engineer responsibilities for the new 2,000-foot-long cable-stayed bridge for the joint owners Port of Long Beach and Caltrans. The new bridge has two single mast towers at the middle of the roadway, and at 165 feet, the bridge is one of the widest cable-stayed bridges in the world.

After completion of preliminary design, the owner elected to use the design-build delivery method. After the design-build contract award, HNTB assumed the role of owner’s engineer, performing independent service loads design; seismic and blast analysis and design; review of engineer of record design submittals; and construction support services such as reviewing contractor work plans, submittals, requests for information, design change notices, and field change notices, in addition to helping the port and Caltrans with claim review and defense.

The Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Project was a joint effort of Caltrans and the Port of Long Beach, with funding contributions from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.