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The American Council of Engineering Companies recently awarded the 2008 Engineering Excellence Award to URS Washington Division (formerly Washington Group International) for its work on the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority’s (SFRTA) New River Bridge.

The firm “overcame severe access and space limitations, with significantly reduced costs” to build the 3,692-foot-long double-track bridge, said SFRTA Executive Director Joseph Giulietti in a prepared statement.

The bridge parallels Interstate 95 for about two miles between Tri-Rail’s Fort Lauderdale and Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport stations, and is used by Tri-Rail and Amtrak to cross over the New River.

The $78 million, four-and-a-half year project was completed in April 2007, enabling SFRTA to operate 10 more trains each weekday. Trains previously crossed the river on a bascule bridge, which had to be raised and lowered to accommodate trains and boats.

Meanwhile, SFRTA received the Federal Transit Administration Region IV’s first-ever 2008 MegaSTAR Award, which recognizes a transit agency that illustrates “creativity and transferability of initiatives and on the magnitude of the ridership gain,” according to the transit agency. The administration honors an agency that employs “innovative strategies” in the areas of ridership, partnerships, environmental stewardship and customer service.