National Steel Bridge Alliance


Prize Bridge Awards

Congratulations to the 2024 Prize Bridge Award winners! Read the full press release here.


Innovation abounds in the steel bridge industry, but eight recent bridges rise above the rest.

AISC and NSBA are recognizing these eight bridges with 2024 Prize Bridge Awards--the structural steel industry’s highest design honor for bridges.

This year, NSBA debuted a brand-new award that recognizes the driving force behind extraordinary bridges: extraordinary owners, whose vision and dedication to the public keep America moving.

The inaugural Owner of the Year award goes to the Texas Department of Transportation. "TxDOT isn't just implementing best practices for designing and building steel bridges--it is defining how an owner can maximize the potential of steel," Carlson said. "Recent projects like the remarkably economical Brazos River Bridge demonstrate how TxDOT's longstanding investment in steel bridge research is paying dividends for Texans, today and tomorrow."

At the World Steel Bridge Symposium at NASCC: The Steel Conference, participants selected the 2024 Bridge of the Year--which went to the New Frederick Douglass Bridge in Washington! The team behind this stunning structure had a challenge: create a bridge that is “classic but not classical, dramatic but not theatrical.” The result is a bridge with three arched spans, like the path of a stone skipping across the water, that is designed for a century-long service life. Read more about all three bridges that went head-to-head for Bridge of the Year in the NASCC Newsroom.

 

The New Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, Washington
The New Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, Washington
National Award, Major Span; Bridge of the Year Winner
Long Beach International Gateway Bridge, Port of Long Beach, Calif.
Long Beach International Gateway Bridge, Port of Long Beach, Calif.
Merit Award, Major Span
I-94 2nd Avenue Bridge Network Tied Arch, Detroit
I-94 2nd Avenue Bridge Network Tied Arch, Detroit
National Award, Medium Span; Bridge of the Year finalist
Rt. 34B over Salmon Creek Bridge Replacement, Lansing, N.Y.
Rt. 34B over Salmon Creek Bridge Replacement, Lansing, N.Y.
Merit Award, Medium Span
Grand Forks County Prefabricated Bridge, Northwood, N.D.
Grand Forks County Prefabricated Bridge, Northwood, N.D.
National Award, Short Span
SR32 Bridge over Stony Creek, Noblesville, Ind.
SR32 Bridge over Stony Creek, Noblesville, Ind.
Merit Award, Short Span
SeaTac IAF Pedestrian Walkway, Seattle
SeaTac IAF Pedestrian Walkway, Seattle
National Award, Special Purpose; Bridge of the Year finalist

South Bayfront Pedestrian Bridge and Horton Landing Park, Emeryville, Calif.
South Bayfront Pedestrian Bridge and Horton Landing Park, Emeryville, Calif.
Merit Award, Special Purpose


The winners were featured in the July 2024 issue of Modern Steel Construction magazine.

What are the Prize Bridge Awards?

Steel bridges have a proud history, connecting communities over the course of decades--even across centuries. Steel bridges endure.

Designing and building attractive, efficient, economical, durable, and sustainable steel bridges is part art, part science. AISC launched its Prize Bridge Competition in 1928 as a way to showcase steel bridge excellence.

Today's Prize Bridge Awards recognize bridges on a biennial basis, with winners in the spotlight at the World Steel Bridge Symposium, which is incorporated into NASCC: The Steel Conference.

In addition to recognizing bridges, NSBA is also awarding a Prize Bridge Award category specifically for American bridge owners whose innovative steel project(s) drive the industry forward.

All projects eligible for a 2024 Prize Bridge Award are also eligible for the Bridge of the Year Award. The panel of expert judges selects three finalists, then those teams take the stage at the World Steel Bridge Symposium to show off what makes their bridges truly exceptional. The audience votes right then and there to choose a winner.