Careful analysis by engineers cut a bridge deck replacement in Kentucky from 26 stages to eight instead. The contractor avoided extra shifts and potential late penalties of $59,000 a day in replacing the deck of the 70-year-old Simon Kenton Suspension Bridge in Maysville.

National Engineering and Contracting, Strongsville, Ohio, won the $5.8-million job in 2002 to replace the deck of the Ohio River crossing carrying U.S. 62 between Kentucky and Ohio. The bridge has a 323.1-meter-long main span and two 141.7-m-long side spans.