AASHTO Journal - Western State DOT Projects Win Coveted Regional Awards

Nine state department of transportation projects from the western region of the United States won coveted 2023 America’s Transportation Awards for their dynamic contributions to the nation’s transportation infrastructure.

[Above photo by AASHTO]

Hailing from Texas, Utah, South Dakota, Washington State, Arizona, and Nebraska, those winning projects were carefully selected from a pool of 20 regional nominations submitted by state departments of transportation of the Western Association of State Highway Transportation Officials or WASHTO.

“In addressing the transportation challenges of today and tomorrow, state DOTs demonstrate a strong determination to bring innovative solutions to their communities,” noted Jim Tymon, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, in a statement.

“The America’s Transportation Awards program serves as a testament to their endeavors, and I am excited to kick off the regional awards with WASHTO’s pioneering projects,” he said. “These projects play a vital role in improving safety, enhancing mobility, and revitalizing transportation resources for drivers, bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit customers alike.”

Created by AASHTO, AAA, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the America’s Transportation Awards contest serves as a catalyst to honor state DOTs and the positive impacts their projects bring to communities across the country.

With 81 nominations submitted by 36 state DOTs through the entire competition, the America’s Transportation Awards projects are sorted into three categories – Quality of Life/Community Development, Operations Excellence, and Best Use of Technology & Innovation – that further emphasize the diverse ways transportation infrastructure generates economic growth and improves quality of life.

All nominated projects first compete on a regional level against projects of their own size: “Small” (projects costing up to $25 million), “Medium” (projects costing between $25 million and $200 million), and “Large” (projects costing more than $200 million).

This year’s winning western state regional projects are:

Texas Department of Transportation’s Mobility35 Initiative to Address Homelessness (IAH) Program (Quality of Life/Community Development, Small Category, TIE)
Utah Department of Transportation’s Teamed-Up for Transit: UDOT and UTA Partner to Improve Mobility for Local Community (Quality of Life/Community Development, Small Category, TIE)
South Dakota Department of Transportation’s U.S. Highway 83 Corridor Improvements and Reconstruction (Quality of Life/Community Development, Medium Category)
Washington State Department of Transportation’s Seattle Multimodal Ferry Terminal at Colman Dock project (Quality of Life/Community Development, Large Category)
Utah Department of Transportation’s Bringing Heat to Winter Driving Safety (Operations Excellence, Small Category)
Texas Department of Transportation’s My35 Waco (Operations Excellence, Large Category)
South Dakota Department of Transportation’s Environmental Sensor and Camera Stations (Best Use of Technology & Innovation, Small Category)
Arizona Department of Transportation’s Pinto Creek Bridge (Best Use of Technology & Innovation, Medium Category)
Nebraska Department of Transportation’s Lincoln South Beltway (Best Use of Technology & Innovation, Large Category)

Once all the regional meetings have concluded, the “Top 12” list of finalists will be announced, comprising the three highest scoring projects from each region. Those top contenders will then compete for the two America’s Transportation Awards national prizes.

The Grand Prize recipient will be selected by an impartial panel of judges, while the People’s Choice Award will be bestowed upon the project that garners the highest number of online votes from the general public.

AASHTO will unveil the winners of these prizes at its annual meeting in November 2023, held in Indianapolis, IN. Both the Grand Prize and the People’s Choice Award winners will receive $10,000 each towards their preferred scholarship or charity.

Visit https://americastransportationawards.org/ to learn more about this year’s WASHTO nominees.