Four Northeastern State DOTs Win Prestigious Awards for Projects that Encourage Community Involvement and Improve Commuting and Rail
WILMINGTON, DE—Six outstanding transportation projects from four northeastern state departments of transportation received top honors today in the second of four regional America’s Transportation Awards competitions. Those winning projects are credited with: improving travel times for thousands of commuters across several busy routes; enhancing community involvement in the project planning and design process; and maintaining daily train service while simultaneously rehabilitating and modernizing a bridge over a decades-old rail line.
“For 12 years, the America’s Transportation Awards have recognized state DOT projects for making communities safer, less congested, and better connected,” said Carlos Braceras, executive director of the Utah Department of Transportation and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials 2018-2019 president. “Today’s regional winners demonstrate how state DOTs collaborate with local communities and partners to develop innovative, multimodal solutions that keep people and goods moving by motor vehicle, scooters, bicycle, and on foot.”
Sponsored by AASHTO, AAA, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the 12th 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; and 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 the Northeast Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (NASTO) regional competition are:
- Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s PennDOT Connects – Connecting Communities, (Quality of Life/Community Development – Small category)
- Maryland Department of Transportation’s Dover Bridge Project (Quality of Life/Community Development – Medium category)
- Maryland Department of Transportation’s US 50 at Severn River Bridge Project (Operations Excellence – Small category)
- Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Liberty Bridge (Operations Excellence – Medium category)
- Connecticut Department of Transportation’s I-84 Waterbury Widening Project (Operations Excellence – Large category)
- New Hampshire Department of Transportation’s East Kingston NH Accelerated Bridge Rehab over an Active Rail Line (Best Use of Technology and Innovation – Small category)
The three highest-scoring projects from each regional competition earn a place on a “Top 12” list of projects which then 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. The winners of those two top awards will be announced Oct. 7 at the AASHTO Annual Meeting in St. Louis, MO. Use this link https://youtu.be/8nWaFArZYQM to watch an AASHTO Transportation TV video about the regional competitions and visit https://americastransportationawards.org/ to learn more about this year’s nominees.
