A new bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis that replaced the collapsed I-35W Bridge was named as the most significant construction project of 2008. The bridge, which was completed by Longmont, Colo.-based Flatiron Construction and Seattle, Wash.-based Manson Construction, was on budget and ahead of schedule. This project was one of 13 construction projects recognized March 6 by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) for their complexity, innovation, success and ultimately, for their significance to the construction community and the nation at large.

“These projects are the very embodiment of the potential and promise of the nation’s construction industry,” said Doug Pruitt, the incoming president of AGC. “These projects are more than a simple task, they are the kind of jobs that challenge our skills, stretch our imaginations and capture our fancy.”

Pruitt noted that the I-35W Bridge project was selected as the Aon Build America Grand Award winner because Flatiron Construction and Manson Construction demonstrated hard work and diligence in completing the project three months early, while overcoming difficult challenges and constraints under the watchful eye of the public and the media. More importantly, Pruitt added, the project was crucial in helping rebuild Americans’ confidence in the safety of the nation’s bridges.

The Aon Build America Award winners were announced as part of AGC’s 90th Annual Convention in San Diego, Calif. For more than 20 years, the Aon Build America Awards have been given to recognize excellence in the construction industry. These prestigious and highly coveted awards are given to the projects selected by a panel of a contractor’s toughest critics — other contractors.

In addition to the I-35W Bridge, 12 other projects were selected to receive Aon Build America Awards by AGC, Pruitt noted. Those projects include Houston’s Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart; Detroit’s Westin Book Cadillac Hotel and Condominiums; Boston Symphony Hall; the U.S. Embassy in Panama City, Panama; and Washington D.C.’s Nationals Park.

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