Sacramento Chapter Honored with ICC Award

ICC President Anne von Weller, left, and Awards Committee Chairman Fred Herman, right, present a Merit Award to Becky Fraser, secretary of the Sacramento Valley Association of Building Officials.

The Sacramento Valley Association of Building Officials was one of four chapters of the International Code Council to receive a merit award at ICC's annual conference last month.

The International Code Council honored individuals and groups for furthering the cause of building safety, fire prevention, safe construction and code enforcement during the association's annual conference last month.

The other merit awards were presented to the North Texas Chapter, Colorado Chapter and Central Ohio Code Officials Association.

Jim Sealy, a fellow with the American Institute of Architects received the Bobby J. Fowler Award, the highest honor given by the Council. The award is in memory of Fowler, who is credited with being the founding father of the Council.

Sealy received the award for his contributions to the building safety industry and for advancing the Council's goal of achieving a safer built environment. He and Fowler often traveled the nation together, addressing building code issues and promoting the concept of the Council as it exists today, a single set of building safety and fire prevention codes.

The Community Service Award, recognizing service to promote public safety, health and welfare, was presented to Phillip "Randy" Whisman of Winchester, Ky. Whisman, a building inspector, was moved to action when he had to condemn an elderly woman's home. The home was once a chicken coop and had no kitchen, bathroom sink, hot water and closets. Whisman called on local businesses and churches to donate building supplies, appliances and labor to rebuild the condemned home to be code compliant. Whisman spearheaded the project and saw it through to completion.
Terry Summey of Asheville, N.C., was the recipient of the Code Official of the Year Award, given to an individual whose contribution to code development and code enforcement helps to further the cause of building safety.

Summey was honored for his work with the Asheville City Council and legislative delegation to extend North Carolina's code requirement for single exit buildings through 2006. He also is credited with re-engineering the Asheville Building Department, which is just the third jurisdiction to receive an ISO Class 1 rating for residential and commercial code enforcement.

Jackie Gibbs, fire chief in Marietta, Ga., received the International Code Council Fire Service Award, presented to a member whose service, professional abilities and leadership are critical to the development of the International Fire Code.

The Building Owners and Managers Association International received the International Code Council Affiliate Award, which recognizes an organization for its support of code development and building safety. BOMA is an international federation of affiliated associations representing members in the United States and Canada.

The valued International Code Council partner was instrumental in lending its support to the adoption of the I-Codes in Phoenix. BOMA also regularly appears before Congress and federal agencies to advocate for building codes and standards.

Murray, Utah, the hometown of Anne vonWeller, the Council's outgoing board president, received the President's Award. vonWeller chose to present the award to Murray in recognition of the support the city's administration showed her during her tenure as the Council president.

The Virginia Building and Code Officials Association was named the International Code Council Chapter of the Year. VBCOA was recognized for its contributions to the code development process, its role in promoting Building Safety Week, promoting the goals and mission of the International Code Council and for participating in activities to increase the public awareness of and support for building codes and building safety.

The International Code Council, a membership organization dedicated to building safety and fire prevention, develops the codes used to construct residential and commercial buildings, including homes and schools. Most U.S. cities, counties and states that adopt codes choose the International Codes developed by the International Code Council.

Hayward Pedestrian Bridge Receives PCA Award

The Portland Cement Association has named the nine winners of its annual bridge awards for excellence in design and construction of concrete bridges in the United States and Canada.

This year's winning projects:

• Breakwater Avenue Pedestrian Overcrossing, Hayward
• Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park Bridge, St. Louis
• McKenzie River Bridge, Eugene, Ore.
• Fifth Street Bridge over the Great Miami River, Dayton, Ohio
• Fort Lauderdale Airport Interchange, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
• Corte Bella by Del Webb, Surprise, Ariz.
• Castlewood Canyon Historic Bridge, Franktown, Colo.
• Intermodal Transit Systems Guideway, Orlando, Fla.
• Old 99 (Riverside) Bridge Replacement, Mount Vernon, Wash.

Projects were open to a variety of structure types and construction methods utilizing concrete and were to be completed between November 2002 and May 2004. The winners will be recognized at the American Concrete Institute's Fall Convention on Oct.24-28 in San Francisco.

Entries were judged on creativity, functionality, and economy.

The simple pedestrian crossing turned into a major design and construction effort due to many challenges ·

• protected wetlands
• impact on indigenous plants and wildlife
• adjacent highway
• Americans with Disabilities Act requirement of a maximum of 5-percent ramp slope
• complex structural design due to small radius (78.7 ft)
• need for additional right-of-way land acquisition
• constricted work day due to adjacent highway reconstruction

After careful evaluation of multiple structure types, the designers selected cast-in-place reinforced concrete superstructure - 49-in.-deep box girder for the 711-ft., 7-in. main superstructure and solid slab for the 219 ft. 10 in. approach spans.

Project Principals: Caltrans District 4, owner; Caltrans Division of Engineering Services, Design Section 11, engineer; Caltrans Division of Engineering Services, Bridge and Architecture Branch, architect; RGW Construction, general contractor; and RMC Pacific Materials, concrete supplier.

Based in Skokie, Ill., the Portland Cement Association represents cement companies in the United States and Canada. It conducts market development, engineering, research, education and public affairs programs.