February 2005

Historic Bridge Replacement Wins ACEC Award

A Mead & Hunt-designed bridge replacement project wins an award for its contributions to the engineering profession. The American Council of Engineering Companies of Wisconsin honored Mead & Hunt with a State Finalist Award for the firm's contributions to the engineering profession in the area of transportation.

CTH X Bridge in Saylesville, Wisconsin. What began as a routine bridge replacement project for the Waukesha County Department of Public Works and Mead & Hunt evolved into a project requiring a design solution to maintain the character of a historic district. The CTH X Bridge is located within a significant nineteenth-century settlement recognized as a National Register-eligible historic district. Though considered historic, the 1934 steel girder bridge was deteriorated and did not have the necessary clear roadway width to comply with design criteria. Mead & Hunt designed a replacement structure that maintained the district's historic character and gained public acceptance of the design.

The new bridge incorporated aesthetic treatments into the parapet, guardrail, riprap, and the structure's approaches. The design also minimized the impacts on a historic fieldstone blacksmith shop, located at the east end of the bridge, only a few feet from the road. To preserve the historic setting, grid pavers that allow grass to grow were incorporated in front of the building along the structure's approach, instead of gravel.

This project is an excellent example of the incorporation of aesthetics into a transportation facility, resulting in a context-sensitive design. The bridge design offers the residents of Saylesville and Waukesha County a safe transportation facility, and a sustainable design that provides an aesthetic addition to the historic district and rural environment. Local residents and the county are pleased with the new aesthetically designed structure and the consideration that was given to preserving the district's historic character.

Mead & Hunt, an Engineering News Record's Top 500 design firm provides professional services in the fields of infrastructure, water resource engineering, highway and bridge engineering, aviation engineering, architecture and building engineering, historic preservation, military engineering, and environmental studies to clients throughout the US. Mead & Hunt was recently recognized on the The Zweig Letter Hot Firm 2004 List as one of the top 100 fastest growing A/E firms. Founded in 1900, Mead & Hunt is a privately held, employee-owned corporation with offices nationwide.