Nomination Deadline: June 1st

Established in 1960, this prestigious ASCE award honors the project that best illustrates superior civil engineering skills and represents a significant contribution to civil engineering progress and society. Honoring an overall project rather than an individual, the award celebrates the contributions of many engineers.

2024 OCEA Honor Awards

These 11 projects have been selected for excellence. At the OPAL Gala in Tampa, FL on October 8, 2024, 2 runners-up and the OCEA winner will be announced from among the Honor Awards.

  • BNSF Sandpoint Junction Connector, Sandpoint, ID
  • Cross Bay Link, Hong Kong
  • EchoWater Project, Sacramento, CA
  • Fern Hollow Bridge Emergency Replacement Project, Pittsburgh, PA
  • Hale Kalele, Honolulu, HI
  • I-4 Ultimate Improvements Project, Orlando, FL
  • I-91 Rockingham Bridges, Rockingham, VT
  • Kansas City International Airport New Terminal, Kansas City, MO
  • Orlando International Airport Terminal C, Orlando, FL
  • Presidio Tunnel Tops, San Francisco, CA
  • Sixth Street Viaduct Replacement, Los Angeles, CA

View all past honorees & videos

Award Presentation

In addition to the OPAL trophy, the national OCEA award consists of a permanently displayed bronze plaque supplied by ASCE. The plaque is presented to the owner of the project in a ceremony coordinated by the local ASCE Region, Section or Branch in which the project is located. The Region, Section or Branch should coordinate the ceremony with the OCEA Coordinator in ASCE's Media Relations Department. The Region, Section of Branch should invite the ASCE President and other ASCE leaders as appropriate. Additional bronze plaques may be ordered through the ASCE Media Relations Department. These plaques will be invoiced to the individual(s) ordering the plaques.

General Information

ASCE annually recognizes an exemplary civil engineering project as the Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement. Established in 1960, this prestigious award honors the project that best illustrates superior civil engineering skills and represents a significant contribution to civil engineering progress and society. Honoring an overall project rather than an individual, the award recognizes the contributions of many engineers.

The Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement is awarded an OPAL award at the annual OPAL Gala. The second place winner receives the OCEA Silver Award; the third place winner receives the OCEA Bronze Award.  All OCEA finalists chosen by the OCEA Jury receive Honor Award trophies. ASCE News announces the OCEA finalists and later issues include coverage of the OPAL awards ceremony and announces the winner of the winner of the Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award. ASCE also promotes the projects through press releases to the civil engineering trade press and the general media.

Entries may be submitted by the individual firms or agencies involved in the projects. Region, Section or Branch project of the year winners are expected to be entered by Region, Section or Branch presidents. In order to be considered by the jury entries must meet the eligibility and entry requirements.

Entries must be submitted electronically to the Honors and Awards Program office, [email protected], by June 1 of the year of award.

The OCEA award program is coordinated through the Honors and Awards program. Entry kits are available online or via e-mail to [email protected].

Please use the OCEA nomination form to submit a project for consideration.

Rules

Eligibility

Any civil engineering project completed in the twenty-four (24) month period ending with June of the year preceding the year of award and meeting project criteria as stated is eligible. There are no restrictions as to locale - a project may be domestic or international - but it must meet at least one of the requirements listed below.

  1. Bridges, tunnels, waterways, railways, roads (other than toll): eligible only when carrying traffic; the time of final completion or dedication is not important.
  2. Toll or similar regional roads: any portion in use is eligible. The entire road is eligible when it is 75% operational. Regional roads are defined as not Federal or State/Provincial roads.
  3. Water supply, flood control dams: eligible when ready to take the full design head of water.
  4. Power dams: eligible when the major civil engineering construction is completed and the structure can take its design head of water.
  5. Power plants: eligible when power is generated and delivered.
  6. Buildings, other structures, and facilities: eligible when ready for use (certificate of occupancy has been obtained where applicable).
  7. Airports and other similar large developments: eligible when initial phase is 75% operational. Individual structures or features (such as major buildings or runways) are eligible when operational, but will be considered separately from the entire project.
  8. Water supply, water treatment, and waste disposal: the entire project is eligible when it is 50% operational in its initial phase. Any completed component is eligible, but will be considered separately from the entire project.
  9. Port, coastal, ocean, and wetlands projects and offshore structures: eligible when complete.
  10. Military projects (such as bases, launching units, and harbor facilities): eligible when initial phase is 75% operational. Individual structures or features (such as major buildings or runways) are eligible when operational, but will be considered separately from the entire project.

Eligibility of projects not categorized above will be determined by the jury. If a project wins an OCEA award, it or any of its components may not be renominated in a later year.

Judging Criteria

The jury will consider entries on the basis of the following general criteria:

Originality and Innovation

  • New or Innovative Application of Technology, Design, Materials, Process/Methods, and Construction

Resourcefulness in Planning and Solving Design Challenges

  • Complexity of the Problem or Situation Addressed
  • Creativity in Solutions

Sustainability and Resiliency Considerations

  • Environmental
  • Social
  • Economic

Project Planning and Delivery

  • Financing, Budget, and Schedule
  • Meeting the Client's Needs
  • Budget and Schedule Adherence
  • Collaboration and Teamwork in Pursuit of the Project’s Goals

Contributions to the Community

  • Representation of the community
  • Enhanced experience of those who interact with the project
  • Harmonious integration with the project setting
  • Inspiration for the future

Submission Entry

The entire entry package may not exceed 40 pages. All entries must be in English and should include the following in this order:

  1. Completed entry form
  2. Brief description of project, not to exceed 250 words
  3. Brief description of magnitude of the contribution to the community or advancement made to be used in media pess releases, not to exceed 100 words:
    Examples:
    1. New or Rehabbed Water Treatment Plant:  XX million gallons of drinking water treated.
    2. New or Rehabbed Water Lines: reduction in losses to drinking water by 22 million gallons.
    3. Civil Site/New Building: reduction in carbon footprint by XX tons.
    4. New Road or Safety Corridor: increased community connectivity and safety.
    5. Design-Build Bridge: increased speed of erection and benefit to reduce impact to traveling public: XX dollars in reduced loss of economy.
    6. Drone Inspection: use of drone technology increased safety of workers and the public, reducing active time of inspectors on the bridge cables, and
    7. Highspeed Rail: environmental justice impacts were improved by increasing connectivity between communities through redevelopment in area around rail line. 
  4. Summary describing how project meets judging criteria, not to exceed 1,000 words.
  5. Brief description of how the project is sustainable, not to exceed 250 words.
  6. Attachments such as articles from newspapers, magazines or journals, if available. If non-English articles are presented, their translation must be provided.
  7. No more than 6 color images of the project.

Preparation Guidelines

Entries must address each criteria and should identify unusual aspects of the project. Describe key challenges and solutions and new technology used. Consider all phases of the project, including the plan, design, construction, operation, and maintenance. The project's environmental, political, economic, social, and legal aspects may also be significant.

Present most technical information in lay terms. OCEA jury members have diverse backgrounds in civil engineering. The engineers and design professionals on the jury may have expertise in structures, for example, but not in environmental engineering. Entries will also be read by general media reporters who cover such civil engineering issues as transportation or the environment but who may not have engineering backgrounds.

Judging & Notification Procedures

Judging is by a volunteer jury. The Jury shall be comprised of the Past President, the most recent President Emeritus who shall chair the Jury, 6 members appointed by the Technical Region Board of Governors and the Editor-in-Chief of Civil Engineering magazine. Members of the Jury shall serve 2 year overlapping terms; 3 members appointed by the Technical Region Board of Governors shall be replaced each year. The Jury shall meet in person and shall recommend a list of finalists and the OCEA recipient to the Executive Committee for approval. The Executive Committee shall approve the recommendations of the jury or, in the case of extraordinary circumstances, the Executive Committee shall refer the recommendations back to the jury for further deliberation.

The Honors and Awards Program office will forward all entries received by the competition deadline to members of the OCEA jury

Following the Executive Committee's approval of the jury's selection of finalists, the secretary of the jury will notify the finalists. The jury's selection of the Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement is not disclosed until the OPAL awards dinner in October.

All finalists will be asked to provide materials for production of a short video of their project, segments of which will be shown during the OPAL dinner.