The New Mississippi River Bridge (MRB) in St. Louis – one of the most significant transportation projects in the nation in recent years – is the culmination of decades of effort by the states of Missouri and Illinois. Earlier this year, the American Council of Engineers (ACEC) in both states honored this momentous achievement with their highest award for engineering excellence. The Illinois council of the ACEC named the MRB project its Eminent Conceptor Award winner at a banquet on February 6, in Lisle, Illinois. The following day, in Kansas City, ACEC-Missouri presented the MRB team with its Grand Conceptor Award. Crawford, Murphy & Tilly (CMT) served as a team member on the project, along with the consulting firms, HNTB Corporation, AECOM, and exp US Services, Inc.
“It’s a rare honor to win the state’s top award in the same year for the same project, so it was an exciting couple of days for us,” said Dan Meckes, CMT president and CEO. “It was such a wonderful experience working with so many talented individuals from the other member firms, along with the Illinois and Missouri Departments of Transportation, and the Federal Highway Administration.”
The MRB project consisted of the construction of the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge, which carries I-70 over the Mississippi River, and major roadway work on the Illinois and Missouri sides of the river. CMT provided project management and design for the I-70 Interchange portion of the project in Missouri, and was named prime consultant by the Illinois Department of Transportation for the design of the approach portion in Illinois.
“We’re grateful to the state transportation leaders in both Illinois and Missouri for the trust they placed in us and the opportunity to serve on such an important project,” Meckes said. “Their vision in conceiving of this project and successfully seeing it through greatly improves the transportation network in the region, potential economic development opportunities in the region and provides safer travel for the public.”
As the top award winner at the state level, the MRB project will be entered into the ACEC’s national Engineering Excellence Awards competition. The final awards will be presented on April 21, at a gala held in Washington, DC.