The railroad won for the "massive engineering effort" to recover after the devastating floods with its entry titled, "Rising Above: How BNSF Overcame the 2011 Floods."
This is the 14th year for the Hay award, which recognizes an outstanding achievement in railroad engineering and honors the memory of Dr. William Hay. The 2012 contest has four entries that were judged on three requirements: innovation, safety and project reliability.