Hardware is still piling up for the Quad Cities’ unique Interstate 74 Bridge after the innovative basket-handle structure was awarded a Structural Engineering Excellence Award in a worldwide competition.
For the awards, each year the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA) evaluates a variety of projects for ingenuity, innovation and creativity. The 2022 Structural Engineering Excellence Awards were presented in eight categories, each with an outstanding project winner.
The I-74 River Bridge was selected as an “Outstanding Project” in the “New Bridges or Transportation Structures” category.
The Iowa and Illinois departments of transportation also announced in a statement that they would especially like to thank the bridge design team — Alfred Benesch & Company and Modjeski and Masters — for their role in developing this engineering marvel that will benefit the communities for decades to come.
In a video created for the awards, the NCSEA called the Moline to Bettendorf Interstate 74 Bridge “an engineering marvel that will benefit the region for decades” to come. They lauded the engineering work that included steel beams that made it possible for the basket handle structure and river bottom to support the weight of the structure and its heavy traffic.
The contest also singled out the unique cantilevered interstate bike path that is a key element, and popular feature, of the new bridge’s design.
You can find out more here about why the I-74 Bridge was honored as well as learn more about the other seven projects to win this year’s NCSEA Excellence Awards.
