INDIANAPOLIS – Six mid-American state departments of transportation won regional awards today for eight outstanding transportation projects that are credited with helping to revitalize communities and provide access to employment centers, medical institutions and recreation facilities.
Missouri Department of Transportation projects in St. Louis and Kansas City were among the winners: Downtown St. Louis Riverfront Improvements, and the Kansas City Divergabout Project that built an innovative interchange at the intersection of U.S. Route 50 and Interstate 49 in Grandview.
“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, scooter, 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 Mid-America Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (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 of Transportation —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)
This is the third of four regional America’s Transportation Awards competitions. 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. The winners of the top two awards will be announced Oct. 7 at the AASHTO Annual Meeting in St. Louis, Missouri.
MoDOT has won 11 regional ATA awards since 2010, and won the 2010 Grand Prize for The New I-64 project and the 2013 People’s Choice Award for the Safe & Sound Bridge Improvement Program.
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.