2025 Project Excellence Award Announcement Made by ASCE
The Coasts, Oceans, Ports, and Rivers Institute (COPRI) Governing Board initiated the Project Excellence Award in 2008 to provide a platform to highlight outstanding projects. This award is designed to acknowledge projects that exhibit exceptional design or construction in coastal, oceans, ports and harbors or rivers related areas. The award-winning projects are recognized for their design excellence and innovation.
The 2025 COPRI Project Excellence Award was awarded to BAE Systems Jacksonville Ship Repair – Shiplift Dry-Docking Complex.
According to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), The BAE Systems Jacksonville Ship Repair project employed innovative design methods to overcome specific site challenges. The design team constructed a new bulkhead using steel sheet piling and a deadman anchor wall for stabilization and erosion protection, extending it about 150 feet east to fit the shiplift structure and dredged side slopes. Additionally, a precast stay-in-place form system was incorporated for the structural pier deck to enhance stability and construction efficiency.
To ensure project success, the design team performed extensive geotechnical investigations, including soil borings and electrical resistivity surveys, to understand the site’s geological conditions and guide construction methods. A test pile program was also implemented to determine pile lengths and ensure structural integrity, utilizing the Pile Driving Analyzer (PDA) and CAPWAP analyses for capacity recommendations. The construction employed innovative techniques, including a two-step dredging process that involved a cutterhead dredge for pre-treatment and a mechanical dredge for loading limestone into scows. Additionally, the transfer bridge was built using precast-prestressed concrete and steel pipe piles, with a detailed 3D model created to address geological challenges and high dynamic loads from Self Propelled Modular Transporters (SPMTs).
