Flatiron Wins International Award for Innovative Bridge Construction Method

The Construction Innovation Forum, an international organization that recognizes construction innovation, presented Flatiron with the prestigious NOVA Award for a new pile driving launching gantry method that reduces the environmental impacts of bridge construction.

Flatiron successfully used the method at the Washington Bypass project in North Carolina to construct a 3-mile-long precast concrete bridge over protected wetlands and the Tar River. The patented process consists of two self-contained gantries capable of performing all the tasks associated with the bridge construction, including precast pile driving, girder erection, and bent cap construction. It is the world’s first application of the pile driving operation from an erection gantry. The method not only saves time and cost, it also eliminates the need for large cranes and temporary access trestles, significantly reducing environmental disturbances to the fragile wetlands below.

“I am honored to receive this award and am thankful that Flatiron supports new ideas that ultimately improve the quality of construction,” said Flatiron’s senior vice president of engineering, Elie Homsi, who developed the technique and helped see it through to successful employment in the field. He accepted the award during a banquet on November 17 that was held in conjunction with the National Conference of the Construction Users Roundtable (CURT) in Orlando, Fla.

The Construction Innovation Forum (CIF) is an international, non-profit organization formed in 1987 to recognize and encourage innovation that improves the quality, efficiency and cost effectiveness of construction.

The Construction Users Roundtable (CURT) exists to create a competitive advantage for construction users. CURT accomplishes this by providing aggressive leadership on those business issues that promote excellence in the creation of capital assets.

Flatiron, with a construction volume of $1.04 billion in 2008, is one of the leading providers of transportation construction and civil engineering in North America. Its core competencies include major bridge, highway, and rail projects. Flatiron also operates as a contractor in public-private partnership projects. Founded in 1947, the firm is a subsidiary of HOCHTIEF, one of the world's leading international construction service providers. Further information is available at www.flatironcorp.com.

HOCHTIEF is one of the leading international providers of construction-related services. With more than 64,000 employees and a sales volume of EUR 18,70 Mrd. Euro billion in FY 2008, the company is represented in all the world‘s major markets. The Group's service offering in the fields of development, construction, services, concessions and operation covers the entire life cycle of infrastructure projects, real estate and facilities. In the USA, the biggest construction market in the world, HOCHTIEF is the No. 1 general builder via its subsidiary Turner and, with Group company Flatiron, ranks among the most important players in the field of transportation infrastructure construction. With its subsidiary Leighton (HOCHTIEF share around 55 percent), the group is market leader in Australia. Because of its engagement for sustainability, HOCHTIEF has been listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes since 2006. Further information is available at www.hochtief.com/press.

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