John H. Clark, P. E., S. E.
2019 Award Recipient
Nominated by the Structural Engineers Association of Washington and the American Society of Civil Engineers
John H. Clark, P.E., S.E.
John H. Clark, P.E., S.E., has been selected as the recipient of the 2019 Professional Engineer of the Year Award for his lifetime achievement and innovation in bridge design and advocacy of cost-effective designs that protect public safety. He was employed by Arvid Grant and Associates from 1963 to 1978; by Anderson, Bjornstad, Kane, Jacobs of Seattle from 19679 to 1997; and as an independent consultant from 1997 to 2017. He is now retired.
Throughout his distinguished career, he as been involved in the design of many significant bridges and in value engineering studies that examined the bridge designs of others. Notable examples of his achievements include serving as a bridge specialist for the consulting team charged with investigating the 1990 sinking of the Lacey V. Morrow floating bridge on I-90, serving as an independent review consultant for the Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge across the Colorado River between Nevada and Arizona, serving as a design consultant for the West Seattle Freeway High Level Bridge, and serving as a design consultant on the seismic retrofit of the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge.
He was responsible for the structural design for the first major concrete cable-stayed bridge in North America across the Columbia River at Pasco, Washington. The 2,500-foot long bridge is composed of precast post-tensioned cable-stayed elements and cast-in-place box girder approach spans. He also led the design of the West Seattle Freeway Low Level Swing Bridge. The movable spans of this double leaf swing bridge are post-tensioned concrete box girders constructed segmentally. Each moveable leaf weighs 7,500 tons and is raised and moved hydraulically.