BAUDETTE/RAINY RIVER BRIDGE REPLACEING CITED IN NATIONAL ENGINEERING COMPETITION

WASHINGTON, DC (March 24, 2022) – Stantec Consulting Services, Inc., of Rochester, Minn., has earned a National Recognition Award for exemplary engineering achievement in the American Council of Engineering Companies’ (ACEC) 55th annual Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) for designing the replacement of the Baudette/Rainy River International Bridge in Baudette, Minn.

Completed in October 2021, the new 1,350-foot-long, five-span haunched continuous steel girder structure is located immediately upstream of the existing bridge. The structure includes two travel lanes and accommodations for pedestrians and bicycles. Stantec led project coordination efforts for the Minnesota Department of Transportation and Ontario Ministry of Transportation, addressing issues such as developing a staging plan to maintain traffic during construction to preserve emergency vehicle access, sustaining regional commerce, and preserving the day-to-day activities of communities on both sides of the border, including the 24-hour Ports of Entry.

As a jointly owned crossing, decisions were made cooperatively to integrate the requirements of two countries into a single, cohesive process. This required coordination with more than 90 stakeholders, meshed separate environmental studies, and addressed permitting requirements, design criteria, construction planning, agency involvement, historical issues, border security, and public participation.

The project is part of 195 entries this year representing engineering excellence from throughout the nation and the world. Judging for the awards program—known industry-wide as the “Academy Awards of the engineering industry”– took place in February and was conducted by a national 27-member panel of built environment leaders, along with experts from government, the media and academia. Award criteria focused on uniqueness and originality, technical innovation, social and economic value, and generating excitement for the engineering profession.

Recognition of all award winners including top winners—20 Honor Awards, 16 Grand Awards and the prestigious “Grand Conceptor Award” for the year’s most outstanding overall engineering achievement—will take place during the 2022 EEA Gala, to be held in Grand Hyatt, Washington, DC, on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.

The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) is the business association of America’s engineering industry, representing more than 5,200 independent engineering firms and more than 600,000 professionals throughout the United States engaged in the development of America’s transportation, water and energy infrastructure, along with environmental, industrial and other public and private facilities. Founded in 1906 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., ACEC is a national federation of 52 state and regional organizations.