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Numerous industry groups have recently awarded some of their most prestigious honors to the Catwalk Trail Design/Build Project.

Awards received include:

Associated General Contractors Alliant Build America Awards

  • 2017 Design-Build Civil Award

Associated General Contractors New Mexico Building Branch Best Buildings Awards

  • 2017 Grand Prize of Show
  • 2017 Federal & Heavy Award
  • 2017 Design/Build Award

American Council of Engineering Companies – New Mexico

  • 2017 Engineering Excellence Award
Project Information
Owner: Federal Highway Administration - Central Federal Lands Division/U.S. Forest Service Engineer: Bohannan Huston, Inc. Location of Project: Gila National Forest, near Glenwood, NM Final Contract Amount: $4,617,780 Completion Date: May 2016 Project Scope (included Design and Construction):
  • 700 feet of suspended catwalk
  • Three steel pedestrian bridges
  • Restoration of the primitive and accessible trails leading to the structures
  • Removal and disposal of creek obstructions and existing flood-damaged structures
  • Slope protection for erosion control and prevention of falling rocks
  • Total rehabilitation and expansion of the parking lot that provides access to the trail
  • Preservation of the existing historical and archeological elements
Project Challenges:
  • Remote location in an environmentally sensitive area
  • Only nine months to complete design and construction
  • Irregular canyon walls required custom fabrication for every piece of steel and a different bearing for every support
Timeline:
  • 1933: Original Catwalk Trail is built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
  • 1978: Catwalk Trail is designated a National Recreation Trail
  • 2012: The lightning-sparked Whitewater/Baldy Fire burns over 290,000 acres in the Trail's proximity
  • 2013: A catastrophic rain cascades down the burn scar, flooding Whitewater Canyon, and destroying the historic Catwalk
  • 2015: Design and construction begin to restore the historic Trail on August 24th
  • 2016: Catwalk Trail Recreation Area is re-opened to the public on May 28th