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BRIDGE PROJECT: Sixth Street Viaduct

Photo courtesy of Skanska-Stacy and Witbeck (SSW).

The Sixth Street Viaduct, the largest bridge project in the history of Los Angeles, has earned an Envision Platinum award for sustainability, specifically for addressing community needs, adding significant public space and amenities, and improving community safety and resiliency.

The $588-million project is funded by the Federal Highway Transportation Administration, the California Department of Transportation, and the City of Los Angeles. The City’s Bureau of Engineering, under the leadership of City Engineer Gary Lee Moore and in partnership with the City’s Bureau of Contract Administration, led the development of the new Sixth Street Viaduct Replacement Project.

The new bridge was designed by HNTB Corp, with HNTB the Engineer and Architect of Record, in collaboration with Los Angeles architect Michael Maltzan Associates and Danish architect Dissing+Weitling. Construction of the bridge was delivered through CMGC and led by a joint venture of contractors Skanska-Stacy and Witbeck (SSW).

“The Ribbon of Light,” as the viaduct has been dubbed, opened with a July 9th public celebration held on the viaduct followed by full opening to traffic on July 10th, 2022.

Verified Sustainability Achievements

—Providing much-needed public space and amenities.
—Improving community safety and incorporating alternative modes of transportation into the project’s design.
—Rebuilding an iconic structure.
—Supporting long-term sustainable growth and development.
—Incorporating resiliency into the design.

Quote

“The City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering is proud to deliver the largest bridge project in the city’s history,” said Gary Lee Moore, City Engineer. “The new viaduct looks to the future and will unite the community with a multi-model structure that will be a destination point for both residents and visitors. This project is an example of what future infrastructure projects should strive to achieve through collaboration with stakeholders and the delivery of a project that improves community mobility, quality of life, safety and resilience. The Sixth Street Viaduct has achieved these sustainable goals, as shown by the Platinum Envision award.”

View the full announcement in our Project Directory.

BRIDGE PROJECT: Gordie Howe International Bridge

The Gordie Howe International Bridge will provide an essential international crossing between Windsor, Ontario, Canada and Detroit, Michigan, in the United States. This is a once-in-a-generation undertaking that will deliver significant and much-needed transportation improvements for international travelers and will provide jobs and economic growth opportunities, among other benefits. The Project earned Envision Platinum.

The Windsor-Detroit trade corridor is considered the busiest commercial border crossing between Canada and the United States, accounting for more than 25 percent of all surface trade between the two countries. The Gordie Howe International Bridge will provide for redundancy at the critical trade corridor with improved border processing and highway-to-highway international connectivity. It also addresses future needs and will provide six lanes to meet anticipated growth in traffic over the years to come.

This project is being delivered through a public-private partnership (P3), a model where the private- and public-sector partners assume an appropriate share of the risks and where the private-sector’s expertise, efficiencies, and innovations are utilized in the delivery of this large-scale project. The P3 model is also good for taxpayers. An independent value-for-money analysis concluded that the P3 model will result in project savings of more than $560 million, a 10.7% difference compared to more traditional procurement methods.

Learn more about the sustainability, resiliency, and equity of this project in the Project Awards Directory.