Bechtel was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1990. He is the 1980 recipient of the Hoover Medal which commemorates the civic and humanitarian achievements of engineers. He was elevated to National Honor Member by Chi Epsilon, the national civil engineering honor society, in 1990. In 1998 Stephen and his son Riley were presented with the Honor Award from the National Building Museum for their company's contributions to the built environment. Bechtel received the Award of Excellence from Engineering News-Record for his leadership of Bechtel Corporation.