Eight Transportation Projects Win MAASTO Awards

Eight transportation projects spearheaded by six state departments of transportation were honored with awards from the Mid-America Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials on August 14; the third of four regional competitions leading up to the 12th annual America’s Transportation Awards event.

[Above photo by the Missouri DOT.]

Sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, AAA, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the annual America’s Transportation Awards competition is comprised of three categories:

• Quality of Life/Community Development, which recognizes projects that provide significant benefits to the communities in which they are located, especially in the form of economic growth and the well-being of citizens.
• Best Use of Technology & Innovation, which recognizes new technology and/or creative solutions implemented by a state DOT.
• Operations Excellence, which recognizes projects that deliver a more reliable, well-functioning, and/or safer transportation system through operational solutions.

Project categories are also designated by size: small (projects costing less than $25 million), medium (projects that cost between $25 million and $200 million), and large (projects costing more than $200 million).

The winners from MAASTO regional competition are:

• Wisconsin Department of Transportation – Eau Claire Half Moon Lake Bridge Replacement– Quality of Life/Community Development – Small category.
• Ohio Department of Transportation– I-71 & Martin Luther King Jr. Interchange – Quality of Life/Community Development – Medium category.
• Missouri & Illinois Departments of Transportation – Infrastructure Improvements for Downtown St. Louis – Quality of Life/Community Development – Large category.
• Michigan Department of Transportation – I-94 Business Loop Reconstruction and Two-Way Conversion Project– Operations Excellence – Small category.
• Minnesota Department ofTransportation – Smith Avenue High Bridge Project – Operations Excellence – Medium category.
• Missouri Department of Transportation – Kansas City Divergabout Project– Best Use of Technology & Innovation – Small category.
• Illinois Department of Transportation – The Joliet Gateway Center Project– Best Use of Technology & Innovation – Medium category.
• Wisconsin Department of Transportation – Zoo Interchange Core and Adjacent Arterials– Best Use of Technology & Innovation – Large category.

The three highest-scoring projects from each regional competition earn a place on a “Top 12” list of projects, which will compete for the Grand Prize – selected by an independent panel of industry judges – and the People’s Choice Award, chosen by the general public through online voting.

The top two winners also receive $10,000 cash awards, to be donated to a charity or scholarship of the state DOT’s choosing.

The Top 12 projects will be announced on Aug. 23, when online voting for the People’s Choice Award will begin., and the winners of the top two awards will be announced Oct. 7 at the AASHTO Annual Meeting in St. Louis, MO.

MAASTO also elected new officers at the group’s annual meeting, with Mark Lowe, director of the Iowa Department of Transportation to serve as the organization’s president and Craig Thompson, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, to serve as its vice president.