Founders’ Honors

Austin’s I-35 corridor is undergoing its first major upgrade since 1974, transforming an approximately eight-mile route that carries more than 220,000 vehicles daily through a constrained urban environment with dense utilities, flood risks, and neighborhoods divided by the highway. As the prime consultant for the Texas Department of Transportation, WSP USA coordinated 10 subconsultants and more than 100 staff. The estimated USD 1.3 billion program presented challenges through disconnected 2D design files and manual data transfers that obscured conflicts, while project delivery required the work to be divided into smaller packages to attract contractors.

Using OpenRoads Designer and OpenBridge Modeler, WSP unified corridor and bridge design through a model-centric digital delivery approach. ProjectWise and Bentley Infrastructure Cloud federated models into a single source of truth, while SYNCHRO linked models to schedules for 4D sequencing and earlier issue detection. The team reported 10,000 work hours saved through digital delivery, improved efficiency, and clearer visualization of construction phasing for stakeholders. This project will deliver significant environmental, social, and resilience benefits, including a projected 29% reduction in fatal and injury crashes.