A $2.6 million recycled plastic pier in New York City has won the Nova Award from the Construc-tion Innovation Forum. The plastic lumber was supplied by TriMax of Long Island Inc. in Ronkonkoma, N.Y. TriMax was given a Nova trophy for an innovative product while New York and David Gann, an engineer with G&W Engineers, were given Nova awards for innovative projects, according to Tony Noto, president of TriMax.
There were five Nova Award winners for 1996.
The New York project, which began in July 1994 and ended in June 1995, was inspired by a similar project in Port Lavaca, Texas. According to Noto, the Texas city took the initiative in constructing a half-mile plastic lumber boardwalk. David Gann was selected as the engineer for the city's project.
``It helped create something nice for the community,'' Noto said. ``It also created a lot of tourism; people want to see the boardwalk.''
A wetlands surrounds the Port Lavaca boardwalk. Every hundred feet or so, bird site stations jut out from the boardwalk for bird watching. And for a more sound environment, the city did not want to use treated lumber that might have put chemicals into the wetlands.
The Tiffany Street Pier, in the Bronx, was nominated for the award by the New York Depart-ment of General Services.
It is 410 feet long and 49 feet wide and is made of structural plastic lumber, a low-maintenance material.
According to a news release, the pier was built for fishing and parties. It has three 29-foot-wide fishing openings and a gazebo in the center of the pier.
TriMax makes the lumber from composite waste fiberglass and high density polyethylene.
``Ninety-five percent of the product is from recycled material and 100 percent of it can be recycled,'' Noto said.
The Nova Award, dubbed the ``Nobel Prize'' for construction, is awarded annually to innovative solutions, processes or products that improve the quality, efficiency and cost effectiveness of construction.
