At the 2024 American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, 10 state department of transportation individuals, teams, and programs were honored with awards in recognition of how their efforts benefitted the communities they serve.
[In above photo left to right: Dr. Shawn Wilson and Jim Tymon. Photo by AASHTO.]
“These AASHTO annual awards celebrate individuals and teams who demonstrate an unwavering dedication to the transportation sector,” said Jim Tymon, AASHTO’s executive director, in a statement.
“As members of the AASHTO family, these award recipients made a significant mark in their respective state DOTs and for the broader transportation community; contributing to safer and more multi-modal communities,” he added.
Dr. Shawn Wilson – current WSP senior vice president and former secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development – won the George S. Bartlett Award for his exceptional leadership in transportation.
During his tenure at Louisiana DOTD, Wilson established the state’s Office of Innovative Procurement, advancing innovative finance and accelerating design-build endeavors.
From 2021-2022, he served as AASHTO’s first African American president.
Additionally, during his term as AASHTO’s president, Wilson emphasized the industry’s vital role in fostering more equitable and inclusive communities.
Joey Hopkins, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Transportation, won the Thomas H. MacDonald Memorial Award for his significant contributions to both AASHTO and his state.
With over 30 years of experience at NCDOT, Hopkins previously served as chief operating officer and held various engineering roles, including deputy chief engineer, before being appointed NCDOT’s secretary in October 2023.
He played a key role in developing the Strategic Prioritization Process, which helps rank transportation projects and support the efficient use of funding for infrastructure improvements across North Carolina.
Teri Soos – deputy chief operations officer for the Maryland State Highway Administration, a division of the Maryland Department of Transportation – received the Alfred E. Johnson Achievement Award for her significant contributions in overseeing the state’s transportation operations.
She plays a crucial role in work zone safety, ensuring that Maryland DOT workers return home safely to their families.
Over the years, Soos has held various leadership positions aimed at enhancing transportation systems and infrastructure within the state.
The Utah Department of Transportation received the Francis B. Francois Award for Innovation for the “Using AI and Computer Vision Tools to Enhance Parcel Detection from Right of Way Plan Sheets” initiative.
That Utah DOT project leverages advanced technologies to automate and improve the identification of land parcels in transportation planning; an effort aimed at increasing accuracy and efficiency, thereby reducing manual labor and project timelines.
Concurrently, several individuals and teams received President’s Transportation Awards, presented annually to acknowledge excellence in specific transportation fields. Those winners are:
- President’s Award for Administration and Organizational Excellence: Arizona Department of Transportation’s Leadership and Professional Development Team;
- President’s Award for Environment and Planning: Idaho Department of Transportation’s First Wildlife Overpass Project;
- President’s Award for Equity: Idaho Department of Transportation’s US-95/McArthur Lake Project;
- President’s Award for Mobility: Missouri Department of Transportation’s 1-270 North Project Build Progress Together;
- President’s Award for Partnerships: Texas Department of Transportation’s Stakeholder Project Information Portal;
- President’s Award for Research: Rita Pauley of the West Virginia Department of Transportation.
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