The 2015 National ABC Conference, sponsored by the ABC-UTC, was co-sponsored by 30 State Departments of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, the National Concrete Bridge Council, the National Steel Bridge Alliance, and the Transportation Research Board including its Second Strategic Highway Research Program. Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, Congressman Carlos Curbelo, and FHWA Administrator Gregory Nadeau were the Conference keynote speakers.

Nearly 600 attended the 2015 Conference, including over 150 bridge engineers from state departments of transportation, 40 bridge engineers from the Federal Highway Administration, and various consultants and other bridge professionals. Ten half-day or full-day pre-conference workshops were held on Sunday, December 6. The Conference began on Monday, December 7 with a general session followed by 30 technical sessions with 115 thirty-minute presentations. The Conference concluded on Tuesday, December 8.

A total of 42 companies exhibited ABC-related products and services to attendees during the 2015 Conference. Several of the exhibitors brought full-scale products for attendees’ hands-on experience, including Sarens’ self-propelled modular transporter and SPS North America’s Sandwich Plate System. Thirteen agencies and firms sponsored travel scholarships for bridge engineers from departments of transportation to attend the Conference.

Resources from the Conference

Below are lists and descriptions of all technical presentations and workshops at the 2015 National Accelerated Bridge Construction Conference

• Statements of FDOT Engineers who Attended the Conference
• Proceedings – collection of papers & extended abstracts (Note: presented as received from authors without external review)
• Complete list of all technical presentations and workshops
• List of technical presentations at a glance
• Detail description of each technical presentation
• List of all workshops at a glance
• Detail description of each workshop

2015 National ABC Conference Awards Recipients

The 2015 National Accelerated Bridge Construction Conference gave awards to recognize best ABC projects and most influential person contributing to the cause and implementation of ABC. See the award winners below.

Most Influential Person Contributing to the Cause and Implementation of ABC:  Mike Culmo

Best ABC Project in Lateral Slide Technology:  I-84 over Dingle Ridge Road (Brewster, NY)

• Owner:  New York State Department of Transportation
• General Contractor:  Marino Crane
• Designer:  HNTB Corporation
• Additional Contributors:
  • NYSDOT Region 8 – Highway Design
  • Dailey Precast – Precast Concrete Fabricator
  • Siefert Associates – Contractor’s Erection Engineer
  • Parsons Brinckerhoff – Construction Inspection
  • Genesis Structural Engineering – HNTB’s Erection Engineering subcontractor
• Contracting Method:  Design-Bid-Build

Best ABC Project in Self-Propelled Modular Transporters:  Hastings Bridge (Hastings, MN)

• Owner:  Minnesota Department of Transportation
• General Contractor:  Lunda Construction and Ames Construction
• Designer:  Parsons
• Contracting Method:  Design-Build Best Value Joint Venture

Best ABC Project in Prefabricated Bridge Elements and Systems:  Rochester Fast 4 (Rochester, VT)

• Owner:  Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans)
• General Contractor:  W.M. Schultz Construction, Inc.
• Designer:  VHB
• Additional Contributors:  J.P. Carrara & Sons, Inc. – Precaster
• Contracting Method:  Design-Bid-Build