American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) national awards for environmental excellence, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) award, the Gustav Lindenthal Award, the Marvin M. Black Excellence in Partnering award, and the ACEC Grand Award. Starting in 2001 with a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)-approved financial plan budget of $2.44 billion (equivalent to $ in ), the project completed its financial close in early 2015 at $2.36 billion (equivalent to $ in )—$86 million (equivalent to $ in ) below its original budget after more than 10 years of construction. The first new, six-lane Potomac River bridge opened for northbound Outer Loop traffic on June 10, 2006, with only minor delays (the lane striping of the bridge and approach did not initially match up). The first car to cross was a Toyota Corolla. On July 16, 2006, at midnight, traffic from the Inner Loop of the beltway was rerouted to the future Outer Loop express lanes for two years. The original 1961 bridge was demolished at 12:35 am, on August 29, 2006, to make room for completion of the six-lane Inner Loop bridge, located between the original bridge and the new Outer Loop span. Local commuter Daniel Ruefly was given the honor of initiating the detonation after he won a contest where he was judged the driver to have suffered the most over the years from the bridge's congestion, with an estimated combined total of two and a half years spent in traffic caused by the bottleneck at the bridge. The airspace above the bridge, and the beltway in both directions, were closed for the detonation, which happened 36 minutes behind schedule. The second bridge span was dedicated on May 15, 2008, and on May 30, 2008, Inner Loop traffic was shifted onto it. After the completion of the Wilson Bridge project, the state of Maryland and the commonwealth of Virginia became the joint owners of the completed bridge, and both states exercise joint responsibility and oversight of bridge activities, maintenance, and operations. The District of Columbia, a jurisdiction that once had ownership rights to the 1961 Wilson Bridge span, relinquished future ownership rights and responsibility for the new bridge. Additionally, DC granted a permanent easement to Maryland and Virginia for the portion of the bridge located within its boundaries. Use and features Of the 12 lanes, six are used for local traffic. Four