2009 Recipient:

Upon graduating from Old Dominion University in 1984, Tom Spoth joined Parsons' Bridge Division, then known as Steinman Boynton Gronquist & Birdsall, and has remained there his entire career. Working his way through the ranks of Engineer/Bridge Inspector, Senior Engineer, Project Engineer and Project Manager, Tom is now a Vice President at Parsons, responsible for bridge engineering, construction and condition inspection work performed in the New York City office.

In addition to overseeing Parsons' New York bridge operations, Tom has played a key role on a number of Parsons' noteworthy bridge design projects. Tom served as the Bridge Design Manager for the New Carquinez Bridge in Crockett-Vallejo, California, a $189 million crossing with a 728 meter main span in a seismically active region. In addition to being the first major suspension bridge to be constructed in the U.S. in more than 30 years, the bridge is the first and only U.S. suspension bridge with a steel orthotropic box girder superstructure, and features deep water drilled shaft foundations, reinforced concrete towers, and air-spun main cables.

Tom was the Bridge Design Manager for the Third Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington State. This $615 million fixed price design/build project posed a number of technical challenges, from high seismic demands to swift currents in Puget Sound to demanding wind performance standards. The bridge, featuring the fifth longest main span in the U.S., demanded deep water gravity caissons, gravity anchorages, and was designed with reinforced concrete towers.

Throughout his career, Tom has had the opportunity to work on numerous suspension bridge inspection and rehabilitation projects. For instance, Tom was the site engineer for the first in-depth cable interior inspection performed at the Golden Gate Bridge, was the Project Manager for the design of the main cable replacement at the Duarte Bridge in the Dominican Republic, and managed several engineering projects for the Mount Hope Bridge in Rhode Island, the Thousand Islands Bridge in upstate New York, and the famous Mackinac Bridge in northern Michigan. Tom has also worked on special structures including suspended pipeline bridges, suspended roofs, the Roosevelt Island Tramway, and several movable highway bridges.

Currently Tom is Design Manager for the new cable-stayed bridge on the Autoroute 25 Public Private Partnership project in Montréal, the first such transportation project in the Province of Québec.

Past Recipients: