The seismic retrofit of one of America's signature bridges and an environmentally sensitive reconstruction project that will relieve severe congestion are just two of 43 transportation projects nominated by the departments of transportation of 28 states and the District of Columbia for the prestigious 2010 America's Transportation Award competition.
The national competition is being sponsored for the third consecutive year by the American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials (AASHTO), AAA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
"These transportation projects improve travel and create hundreds of thousands of jobs in communities across the country," says John Horsley, AASHTO executive director. "It's important to recognize the outstanding job state DOTs are doing to deliver both quality and value to the American people."
This year's entries, for the first time, include projects delivered under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Other award categories include projects delivered under budget, on time and using innovative management.
The first regional winners will be announced at the Northeast Association of State Transportation Officials (NASTO) meeting on June 15 in Wilmington, Del. AASHTO will announce the winners of the Mississippi Valley Conference of State Highway and Transportation Officials (MV) on July 9 in Des Moines, Iowa; followed by the Western Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (WASHTO) announcement in Bismarck, N.D., on July 12. The winners of the Southeastern Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (SASHTO) regional competition will be announced in Little Rock, Ark., on Aug. 30.
The 10 highest-scoring projects from the regional competitions will go on to compete for the Grand Prize and the People's Choice Award, which will be presented at the AASHTO Annual Meeting in Biloxi, Miss., Oct. 31, 2010. Both awards carry $10,000 cash prizes.
In 2009, a panel of judges awarded the Minnesota Department of Transportation's I-35W bridge project in Minneapolis the Grand Prize. More than 230,000 online votes were cast for Florida DOT's 95 Express Miami Project, making it the People's Choice Award winner. The $10,000 awards given to last year's winners were used to support a local nonprofit association and for student scholarships.
Follow the awards competition at its official website: www.americastransportationaward.org.
