Schemmer’s Broadway Viaduct Project Earns 2013 ACEC-NE Grand Award

Schemmer was awarded the 2013 American Council of Engineering Companies – Nebraska Grand Award for the U.S. Highway 6 Broadway Viaduct project at the 2013 Engineering Excellence Awards ceremony held on February 19, 2013. This is the 2nd year in a row that Schemmer has been awarded this honor.

The Grand Award is a representation of the top overall winner for engineering excellence. Judges recognized the project for its innovative design and value to the community.

Schemmer representatives Adam Sleeper, P.E.; Darin Brown, P.E.; Shane Swope, EI; and project manager Steve Kathol, P.E., S.E., were present at the ceremony to accept the award.

The Iowa Department of Transportation needed a replacement structure for the U.S. Highway 6, Broadway Avenue Viaduct, a key transportation structure for the City of Council Bluffs. This project required an aggressive 11-month design schedule; significant coordination involving the City of Council Bluffs, two railroad companies, multiple utility companies, citizens and adjacent business owners; and supports a public art sculpture of major significance. This project had unique challenges related to urban bridge design and required distinctive engineering solutions. The Schemmer project team collaborated with the Iowa West Foundation (IWF) and Ed Carpenter, the artist selected by IWF for the public art sculpture on the viaduct.