Spanning the Industry

We have a passion for all types of bridges. With no allegiance to any single aesthetic or approach, our expert designers craft unique solutions by listening to our clients to determine what’s best in each situation and each community. Our global experience includes more than five decades of industry-leading research and work on steel girder bridges, and encompasses renovation of historical bridges, movable and complex bridges, major river crossings and interchanges. We also offer planning, design and construction services for structures at airports, heavy rail and transit.

Planning for Tomorrow

No matter the complexity or challenge, our approach to designing smart provides superior custom-fit results. Our bridge specialists help clients reach their goals by crafting cutting edge solutions using the latest technologies including bridge information modeling, structural health monitoring and intelligent transportation systems. Innovative solutions and intelligent infrastructure mean our clients’ and their constituents’ needs are met for the long run.

We Celebrate These Numbers

3rd

Top 25 in bridges, ENR

3

Grand Conceptor Awards for Bridges

600+

Bridge Specialists

70+

Offices with Bridge and Structures Specialists

For more info contact

Manuel F. Carballo

Global Bridges & Structures Director

Email

Raising the Stakes

As the lead designer in a design joint venture on the Bayonne Bridge Navigational Project, our HDR project team partnered with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to raise the clearance under the bridge to 215 feet within the existing arch span so larger ships could pass through. Such a complex project had never been attempted before, and the design earned both the OCEA Award, the top project honor from the American Society of Civil Engineers and an ACEC Grand Conceptor Award, given annually to the nation’s best overall engineering project.

THE 21ST CENTURY BAYONNE BRIDGE

Designing Solutions

Part modern marvel and part practical mobility solution, the SR 520 floating bridge on the east side of Seattle enables multiple modes of land-based transportation to simultaneously cross Washington state's second-largest natural lake. The span, now the world’s longest floating bridge, was honored in 2017 with an ACEC Grand Conceptor Award as the nation's best overall engineering achievement.

The World's Longest Floating Bridge

Pushing Boundaries

Faced with environmental, aesthetic and traffic concerns in building a new bridge over the St. Croix River, we implemented a concrete extradosed design, just the second in the U.S. See how we blended the most serviceable aspects of both girder and cable-stay bridge structures in order to achieve our clients' goals and deliver the award-winning design.

Shaping Form to Meet Function

Overcoming Challenges

A highly dynamic environment can be a big design challenge. Learn more about how HDR engineers overcame Atlantic waves, currents and salt spray to construct the new Herbert C. Bonner Bridge in North Carolina, and see why the extensive use of precast concrete was the best way to construct this 2.8-mile, long-span, replacement bridge.

Developing Concrete Solutions

Bridge Services

We offer every bridge-related service you can think of and a few you might not.

Accelerated Bridge Construction

If the most important element for you is speed of construction in the field, we can figure out how to replace your bridges very quickly, perhaps in as little as a weekend.

Alternative Delivery

Meeting unique client needs often requires creative project delivery methods. Our bridge teams have partnered with clients to complete more than 50 design-build projects. We’ve served as program managers, managing both costs and risks in a results-oriented environment, used construction management/general contractor delivery methods, developed public-private partnerships and more — all in an effort to find the best approach to ensure success.

Asset Management/Load Rating

We conduct studies that measure the structural response of a bridge under a variety of load conditions to determine its structural integrity. This provides data to make informed decisions about asset management.

Bridge Architecture

Combining both art and science to bring form together with function, our bridge architects partner with our designers and our clients to develop and deliver solutions that achieve the community's vision.

BIM for Bridges and Structures

We're at the forefront of BIM for Bridges and Structures, harnessing information at its origin to drive decisions, create better visualizations and improve communication between designers and contractors.

Bridge Inspection

Our experienced engineer/inspectors maintain certifications and qualifications to inspect and evaluate all types of bridges and tunnels as required by the Federal Highway Administration. Our staff is comprised of National Bridge Inspection Standards (NBIS)-certified Team Leaders, National Certified Tunnel Inspectors (NCTI) Team Leaders in accordance with the National Tunnel Inspection Standards (NTIS), Fracture Critical Member (FCM)-certified Team Leaders, Society of Professional Rope Access Technicians (SPRAT)-certified inspectors (Levels I, II and III), and American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT)-certified NDT Technicians (Levels 1 and 3). We continue to manage numerous bridge and tunnel inspection contracts for clients across the country, helping to maintain safe infrastructure for the traveling public.

Bridge Preservation

Our clients face significant challenges in addressing the needs of their aging infrastructure, including how to cost effectively preserve and maintain their bridges to support overall highway mobility. From repairing to retrofitting, we develop innovative designs and approaches for long-term preservation, and we assist our clients in making informed decisions in establishing infrastructure resiliency.

Seismic Retrofit

In regions where earthquakes are a concern, owners can modify existing structures to make them more resistant to seismic activity, ground motion or soil failure that can accompany earthquakes. We've led seismic retrofits of simple-span to long-span bridges, including some of the most recognizable in the U.S.

Transit

Different modes of transit have different bridge needs. We've designed client-driven solutions for pedestrians, streetcars, light rail, buses and more.