SR-22 Receives Top Civil Engineering Award
OCTA’s Garden Grove Freeway Widening Named Outstanding Project of the Year
ORANGE – The Garden Grove Freeway (SR-22) Widening Project was selected as the Outstanding Civil Engineering Project, an annual award given by the Los Angeles Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) received the award because of the project’s unique complexity, scope and engineering features.
"The SR-22 project is one that everyone at OCTA is extremely proud of and one that really demonstrates the benefits of using design-build in working to improve California’s infrastructure," said OCTA Chairman Carolyn Cavecche, also the mayor of Orange. "It’s a great honor to receive this award and we look forward to continued improvements on our freeways and streets."
The project stood out because it was the first successful major design-build project on an operating California freeway, said Mark Norton, president-elect of the Los Angeles Section of ASCE. Construction on a design-build project begins before the design is fully completed, reducing the overall time necessary for project completion.
The size of the project, the challenges that were faced and the strong team cooperation between OCTA, Caltrans and the contractor were also deciding factors in the selection process, Norton said.
The SR-22 is a 12-mile freeway spanning the cities of Westminster, Garden Grove, Santa Ana and Orange, making it a vital link to residents, businesses, employees and visitors. The improvements made to the freeway, built in the 1960s, are intended to ease traffic, remove bottlenecks and enhance safety.
The $550 million project adds one carpool lane and one mixed-flow lane in each direction, merging lanes between interchanges at various locations and improvements in ramps, soundwalls and landscaping.