OHLA Group ranks among the top ten contractors operating in the country

Three infrastructures built by OHLA USA win ENR Best Project Award

September 21, 2022

Ardie R. Copas State Veterans Nursing Home (Florida).

Three of the construction projects carried out by OHLA USA were selected as winners of the prestigious Engineering News-Record (ENR) 2022 Best Project awards in the magazine’s regional competitions. These include the Ardie R. Copas State Veterans Nursing Home (Florida), the RiverEdge Park Pedestrian Bridge (Aurora, Illinois), and the RFK Connector Ramp K to the Northbound Harlem River Drive (New York).

ENR Southeast designated the Ardie R. Copas Veterans Nursing Home in Port St. Lucie, Florida, as a Best Project in the Government/Public Building category. OHLA Building, an OHLA USA subsidiary, served as construction manager on this 121,000-square-foot veterans nursing home for the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs. The Leed Gold-certified facility include a 120-bed skilled nursing facility and an area with 60 rooms reserved for residents with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Located in Aurora, Illinois, the RiverEdge Park Pedestrian Bridge, built by OHLA USA’s Judlau Contracting subsidiary, has been selected as a Best Project in the Landscape/Urban Development sector by ENR Midwest. The infrastructure, a curved bridge with a length of 274 meters (900-feet), is a critical part of the master plan to redevelop the City of Aurora’s historic downtown district and has a dynamic color-changing LED system that brings the bridge to life during major events – helping Aurora live up to its moniker “City of Lights.” Judlau served the Illinois Department of Transportation as general contractor on this challenging contract.

Also, the RFK Connector Ramp K to the Northbound Harlem River Drive was the designated winner in the Highway/Bridge category by ENR New York. Judlau Contracting served as design-build contractor for this assignment, which was also selected as a National Award of Merit recipient by the Design-Build Institute of America in 2021. The contract, awarded by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority consisted of the design and construction of a ramp of approximately 430 meters (1,400 feet), the objective of which was, among others, to facilitate access to Harlem River Drive and avoid the congestion of other surrounding roads commonly used by residents to access the area.

Panels of expert judges selected the winning projects based on challenges that were faced and overcome, innovative solutions used in engineering and construction, and outstanding work quality.

United States, a core market for OHLA

The United States is a core market for OHLA, along with Latin America and Europe. In 2021, the company won new awards worth more than $1.378 billion (€1.15 billion) with contracts as prominent as the I-5 capacity improvement in California; Destination Sport Miami, the largest indoor multi-sport facility in North America; and the rehabilitation of the Rotunda – West 79th Street traffic circle, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2022, the company was awarded the Purple Line Light Rail project in Maryland as a consortium for a total of $2.3 billion (€2.17 billion). OHLA is also one of the top ten international construction contractors operating in the U.S., according to ENR’s 2022 ranking.

From top to bottom, the RiverEdge Park Pedestrian Bridge (Aurora, Illinois), and the RFK Connector Ramp K to the Northbound Harlem River Drive (New York).