SAN FRANCISCO—T.Y. Lin International, a globally-recognized full-service infrastructure consulting firm, announces that the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge New East Span has received the International Road Federation's 2014 Global Road Achievement Award for Design.

Recognizing organizations that demonstrate outstanding achievements in the broad design arena, including aesthetics, applications in challenging environments, cost efficiency and originality, the award was presented at the 1st IRF Asia Regional Congress & Exhibition in Bali, Indonesia, on November 18.

“T.Y. Lin International, in a joint venture with Moffatt & Nichol, is extremely honored that our design for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge New East Span has been recognized by the International Road Federation,” said Alvaro Piedrahita, P.E., TYLI President and chief executive officer. “T.Y. Lin International has had the privilege of delivering some of the world's most challenging and iconic infrastructure projects. The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge New East Span is a seismically-resilient landmark bridge that has been designed to serve the people of California for decades to come.”

TYLI, in a joint venture with Moffatt & Nichol, served as Engineer of Record on the immense seismic replacement project. Working closely with California Department of Transportation, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and the California Transportation Commission, the firm was charged with designing a Lifeline Structure that must be operational for emergency traffic shortly after the largest anticipated earthquake.

The new, 2.2-mile-long East Span comprises the single-tower Self-anchored Suspension Span, the Skyway rising to meet the SAS from the Oakland shoreline, the Oakland Touchdown linking the Skyway to California's Interstate 80, and the Yerba Buena Island Transition Structure connecting the SAS to the island. Built to last 150 years, the landmark crossing features state-of-the-art technologies and engineering innovations designed to protect the bridge's structural elements during an earthquake.

Bridge design innovations include seismic energy-absorbing shear link beams in the dramatic, 525-foot-tall SAS tower, and the use of a single, 4,550-foot-long looped suspension cable that, due to challenging geological conditions, anchors in the superstructure itself rather than in the ground at either end. Deck sections of the East Span are connected by hinge pipe beams that absorb the energy of an earthquake and minimize damage to the expansion joints. Battered pile technology was utilized for driving foundation piles up to 300 feet down into the stiff soils of the San Francisco Bay.

To date, the new East Span has been named a finalist for the 2015 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers and has won the 2014 Award of Excellence from the Structural Engineers Association of California, the 2014 Excellence in Structural Engineering Award from the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations, a 2014 Special Recognition Award from the California Transportation Foundation, the 2014 Globe Award from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, a 2014 Concrete Bridge Award from the Portland Cement Association, the 2013 Project of the Year Award from ASCE, Region 9, and the 2013 Outstanding Transportation Project Award from ASCE, San Francisco Section.

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Bay Bridge Project Lauded

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