Each year ASCE recognizes the best of the best with Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement – or OCEA – Honor Awards.
These projects have demonstrated exceptional civil engineering innovation and made significant contributions to society.
The list of OCEA Honor Award recipients for 2025 is even more excellent than usual – with a record-high 14 projects.
ASCE will honor each project and reveal the bronze, silver, and overall OCEA winners at the 2025 OPAL Gala, Oct. 10 in Seattle.
Here are the 2025 OCEA Honor Award projects:
Bois d’Arc Lake Program
Location: Bonham, Texas
Completed: March 2023
Total Project Cost: $1.6 billion
Owner: North Texas Municipal Water District
Lead Designer: Freese and Nichols
A project two decades in the making, the Bois d’Arc Lake Program provides a crucial new water source for more than 2 million people in North Texas.
Brightline Florida: East-West Connector
Location: Orlando to Cocoa, Florida
Completed: September 2023
Total Project Cost: $6 billion
Owner: Florida East Coast Industries, Fortress Investment Group
Lead Designer: HNTB
Brightline is the only U.S. privately owned and operated intercity railroad. The East-West connector is 38 route miles between Cocoa, Florida, and the Orlando International Airport.
Denver Water Northwater Treatment Plant
Location: Golden, Colorado
Completed: May 2024
Total Project Cost: $518.1 million
Owner: Denver Water
Lead Designer: AECOM
A critical new part of Denver Water’s North System Renewal Program, the facility can treat 75 million gallons of water daily.
East Side Access
Location: New York City
Completed: January 2023
Total Project Cost: $11.2 billion
Owner: Metropolitan Transportation Authority Construction and Development
Lead Designer: WSP USA; STV; and Parsons (General Engineering Consultants tri-venture)
East Side Access is the first major expansion of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Long Island Rail Road in more than a century, extending the line from Queens to a new Grand Central Madison terminal, transforming the commute from Long Island to New York City.
Glass City Metropark
Location: Toledo, Ohio
Completed: June 2023
Total Project Cost: $46.5 million
Owner: Toledo Metroparks
Lead Designer: SmithGroup
The Glass City Metropark project turned a 70-acre stretch of underused industrial brownfield along the Maumee River into a one-of-a-kind park experience.
Kew Gardens Interchange Reconstruction
Location: Queens, New York
Completed: December 2022
Total Project Cost: $747.3 million
Owner: New York State Department of Transportation
Lead Designer: Hardesty & Hanover
The project features 22 new or rehabilitated bridges, numerous connecting ramps, and more than 5 lane miles of interconnecting roadway and retaining walls – all to improve safety and alleviate traffic in one of the nation’s busiest interchanges.
Northeast Transmission Line
Location: Houston
Completed: December 2023
Total Project Cost: $347.8 million
Owner: Houston Public Works
Lead Designer: Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam
The line extends 16.5 miles across the north side of Houston to convey 360 million gallons of treated surface water per day, serving 900,000 people.
Omaha RiverFront Revitalization
Location: Omaha, Nebraska
Completed: August 2023
Total Project Cost: $325 million
Owner: Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority
Lead Designer: HDR
Nebraska’s first Envision-certified project, the Omaha RiverFront Revitalization, created an amenity-rich 72-acre park anchored by the Missouri River.
Iwan Baan
Perelman Performing Arts Center
Location: New York City
Completed: September 2023
Total Project Cost: $500 million
Owner: PAC NYC
Lead Designer: REX
The 129,000-square-foot PAC NYC, built on the World Trade Center site, features three main theaters that can transform into 11 different theater volumes and 60-plus seating configurations thanks to four retractable, acoustically isolated walls.
Project 11: Houston Ship Channel Expansion, Segments 1-2
Location: Houston
Completed: pending
Total Project Cost: $640 million
Owner: Port Houston
Lead Designer: AECOM and GBA (joint venture)
Project 11 includes widening the Houston Ship Channel at its Galveston Bay reach, widening the Bayport and Barbours Cut Channels, deepening upstream segments, and constructing 10 acres of bird islands, 276 acres of intertidal marsh, 324 acres of oyster reefs, and over 600 acres of future operation and maintenance capacity.
Regional Connector Transit Corridor Project Design-Build
Location: Los Angeles
Completed: June 2023
Total Project Cost: $1.8 billion
Owner: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Lead Designer: Mott MacDonald
The project simplifies the journey from one side of Los Angeles to the other, joining the city’s three existing lines, eliminating transfers, and reducing travel time for an estimated 60,000 trips per weekday.
Sphere
Location: Las Vegas
Completed: September 2023
Total Project Cost: $2.2 billion
Owner: Sphere Entertainment Co.
Lead Designer: Populous
Believed to be the largest spherical structure in the world, Sphere has a 516-foot diameter, stands 366 feet tall, and encloses a bowl-shaped theater for 17,600 guests.
Sterling Natural Resources Center
Location: San Bernardino, California
Completed: December 2023
Total Project Cost: $222 million
Owner: East Valley Water District
Lead Designer: Arcadis
The pioneering urban wastewater treatment facility can recycle 8 million gallons of water every day, supporting regional water sustainability and resilience.
Two Manhattan West
Location: New York City
Completed: January 2024
Total Project Cost: N/A
Owner: Brookfield Properties
Lead Designer: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Clad in high-performance glass with curved corners, the nearly two-million-square-foot office tower anchors the mixed-use neighborhood of Manhattan West.
Learn more about the ASCE OPAL Gala.
