The Illinois Chapter of the American Public Works Association (APWA) recently named the new Morgan Street Bridge its Transportation Project of the Year in the $25-75 million category. CMT served as project manager and lead designer on the project.
The Morgan Street Bridge project is a demonstration of the City of Rockford’s commitment to sustainability and the betterment of the community for all of its citizens. From a transportation perspective, replacing an aging bridge results in safety benefits that includes a more sturdy structure and the opportunity to improve traffic flow. These were major considerations back in 2000 when the decision was made to begin planning for its replacement. By the time ground broke for construction of the new bridge in the summer of 2012, the list of benefits grew substantially. The bridge project had become a catalyst to unify the community through the revitalization of an impoverished area of town, and a committed effort to identify and implement context-sensitive and sustainable solutions. CMT also facilitated a Value Engineering study that generated design alternatives that resulted in savings of $1.63 million.
CMT is grateful to the APWA for this distinguished award and to the City of Rockford for the opportunity to work on such a transformative project.