E-470 Public Highway Authority Selected for 2020 Toll Excellence Award from the International Bridge,Tunnel and Turnpike Association
E-470 is Recipient of Toll Operations, Engineering & Maintenance Award for Proactive Traffic Management Program
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) today announced the E-470 Public Highway Authority has been awarded a 2020 Toll Excellence Award for Toll Operations, Engineering & Maintenance for its proactive traffic management program during extreme weather situations. This year, IBTTA has awarded seven prestigious awards acknowledging industry leaders implementing transportation projects worldwide focusing on environmental sustainability, advancement of emerging technologies, easing mobility and alleviating congestion for drivers, and the development of new transportation systems in rapidly growing areas.
“E-470 is the winner of this year’s Toll Excellence Award for Toll Operations, Engineering & Maintenance for its proactive traffic management program that kicks into action during extreme weather situations to help keep roads open and motorists safe,” said Samuel Johnson, Interim CEO of the Transportation Corridor Agencies and President of IBTTA. “E-470, along with six other 2020 Toll Excellence Award winners, continues to implement systems and strategies that are revolutionizing transportation throughout the globe and helping lead the way in creating transportation systems to keep our customers moving safely and efficiently.”
Tim Stewart, Executive Director, E-470 Public Highway Authority said, “With a collaborative effort between the TMC and Roadside Assistance, the motorists of E-470 can easily travel the tollway without delay or safety concerns, especially during instances such as the Bomb Cyclone last year. Also, motorists can feel a sense of security that if any issues do arise while on E-470, that they will be assisted quickly and be back on their way. This is how we improve the journey of each motorist that travels along our roadway.”
The seven award winners will make presentations at 11:00am ET on September 10th during IBTTA’s Virtual 88th Annual Meeting and Exhibition, September 10 and 14-16, 2020. One of the seven recipients will also be honored with the President’s Award for Excellence, the association’s highest achievement, during the Opening Session, Monday morning, September 14th.
“Toll authorities and industry partners demonstrate their continued leadership conceiving, developing and implementing programs and strategies that advance mobility, safety and efficiency for drivers around the world,” said David Machamer, Chair of IBTTA’s Toll Excellence Awards Committee and Assistant Executive Director, PIKEPASS and Toll Operations for the Oklahoma Turnpike. “Against historic, extraordinary circumstances this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these award winners continue to find ways to break new ground that ultimately will mean safer, more reliable and better experiences for our customers, the driving public.”
Toll Operations, Engineering & Maintenance Award: E-470 Public Highway Authority
Project Name: E-470’s Proactive Traffic Management Program
E-470 to the rescue! On March 13, 2019, the Denver Metro Area experienced an extreme weather event – a bomb cyclone. The storm produced hurricane-strength winds up to 80 miles per hour and more than 13 inches of snowfall in less than 24 hours. These conditions provided motorists and Road Management staff with less than one quarter-mile visibility and drifts along the roadway that topped out at several feet deep. Approximately 200,000 people were left without power throughout various periods of the day and thousands of motorists were stranded.
That’s where E-470 stepped in. Not only did E-470 keep the road open, become a housing shelter for stranded motorists, but also used this opportunity to test the effectiveness of its recently implemented Proactive Traffic Management Program. This program is run by E-470’s Traffic Management Center (TMC). The TMC is the hub of all traffic management systems where information concerning traffic operations is collected and analyzed to make modifications to each system as necessary, including coordinating responses to events in real-time. This allows E-470 to provide timely information to motorists on social media and via our variable message signs. Integration with 52 CCTVs that cover the entire tollway offer expanded surveillance and improved incident response and management, which was key to our extreme weather response in March 2019.
Throughout the entire storm, the TMC, Roadside Assistance staff, maintenance team and law enforcement went above and beyond typical services while enduring white-out winter conditions. With incidents and requests for service flying in at an overwhelming pace, the entire Road Management team persisted throughout the storm to provide outstanding customer service to law enforcement, E-470 management and the travelling public. You can learn more here.
This year’s 2020 Toll Excellence Award recipients are:
- Administration and Finance: North Texas Tollway Authority
- Customer Service and Marketing Outreach: Washington State Department of Transportation
- Social Responsibility: Illinois Tollway
- Technology: Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise
- Toll Operations, Engineering and Maintenance: E-470 Public Highway Authority
- Private Sector Innovation Award: Egis
- Private Sector Innovation Award: HNTB Corporation
The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) is the worldwide association for the owners and operators of toll facilities and the businesses that serve tolling. Founded in 1932, IBTTA has members in 23 countries on six continents. Through advocacy, thought leadership and education, members are implementing state-of-the-art, innovative user-based transportation financing solutions to address the critical infrastructure challenges of the 21st Century. For more information, visit www.ibtta.org or join us on Twitter @IBTTA or #TollRoads.
Each year, IBTTA presents the Toll Excellence Awards to highlight the very best projects, innovations, and solutions from the international tolling industry. The awards encourage the industry to share and celebrate new ideas and emerging practices in six categories: Administration and Finance; Customer Service and Marketing Outreach; Social Responsibility; Technology; Toll Operations, Engineering and Maintenance; and Private Sector Innovation.
For more information about the IBTTA Toll Excellence Awards, to interview any of the award recipients, please contact Bill Cramer, Communications Director, IBTTA at [email protected] or 202.210.2962
About IBTTA
The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) is the worldwide association for the owners and operators of toll facilities and the businesses that serve them. Founded in 1932, IBTTA has members in more than 20 countries on six continents. Through advocacy, thought leadership and education, members are implementing state-of-the-art, innovative user-based transportation financing solutions to address the critical infrastructure challenges of the 21st Century. For more information, please visit www.ibtta.org or join us on Twitter @IBTTA or #TollRoads.
