America's Transportation Awards offer online voting for People's Choice.
Press Release Summary:
AASHTO, AAA, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce have announced that the cutoff date for online voting in America's Transportation Awards competition has been extended 1 week to Friday, Oct 14. Winning state will be awarded $10,000 prize to give to a charity or non-profit of its choice. Ten state projects are competing for People's Choice Award to be decided by popular vote of general public, as well as National Grand Prize, which will be decided by panel of judges.
Original Press Release:
Online Voting Extended for America's Transportation Award Competition
Public Will Decide People's Choice Winner
Washington, D.C. -- The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), AAA, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are announcing today a one week extension for online voting in the America's Transportation Awards competition.
The winning state will be awarded a $10,000 prize to give to a charity or non-profit of its choosing. The original cutoff date for public voting was Friday, Oct. 7. The voting will now continue through the end of the day on Friday, Oct. 14.
Ten state projects are competing for the People's Choice Award, which will be decided by popular vote of the general public. Online voting is available at www.AmericasTransportationAward.org. These same top 10 projects are also competing for the National Grand Prize, which will be decided by a panel of judges, and another $10,000 will be awarded to that winner. The two awards will be presented Oct. 16 at the AASHTO Annual Meeting in Detroit.
The 10 finalists received the highest number of overall points during four regional contests, representing each part of the country. A total of 40 projects from 29 states were judged in three categories: "On Time", "Under Budget", and "Innovative Management."
Top 10 finalists:
1. Florida -- I-10 to I-95 Interchange: "The Big I": Finishing six months ahead of schedule, the Florida Department of Transportation reconstructed the I-10/I-95 interchange, a project that consisted of 17 bridges, 21 ramps, and 25 lane miles built over and around traffic moving through one of the busiest interchanges in the state. Countless taxpayer dollars and commuting headaches were saved.
2. Kansas -- K-23 Practical Improvement project: Time and taxpayer money were saved when the Kansas Department of Transportation used practical design strategies to rebuild 17 miles of a two-lane road in western Kansas. The project removed deteriorated asphalt and widened the road as well.
3. Kentucky -- Newtown Pike Extension: In order to accommodate the 2010 World Equestrian Games, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet had to extend the Newtown Pike in a very short period of time. The project, designed to improve traffic flow into downtown Lexington, finished on schedule, two full weeks before the Games, even with unanticipated work added to the project.
4. Massachusetts -- Phillipston Heavy Lift Bridge Replacement: This $3.3 million project by the Massachusetts Highway Department became the fastest bridge replacement in state history when it used Self Propelled Modular Transporters for bridge replacement for the first time.
5. Michigan -- The Fix on I-196 project: This $40 million project by the Michigan Department of Transportation used more than 100 community meetings and significant public partnership efforts that enabled the completion of the two-mile segment of I-196 near Grand Rapids during a single construction season.
6. Montana -- Shiloh Road: This project by the Montana Department of Transportation improved safety and mobility along a 4.5-mile stretch of Shiloh Road, formerly a quiet dirt road that had grown into a critical commuter corridor. The $25 million project kept the road open with very few detours and delays.
7. New Hampshire -- Hampton Toll Plaza - Conversion to Open Road Tolling: This $17 million New Hampshire Department of Transportation project to convert to open-road tolling was competed on a fast-tracked, 16-month schedule, after it was determined that the 16-lane toll plaza did not have adequate capacity to handle seasonal traffic demands.
8. South Carolina -- Plans Online project: South Carolina Department of Transportation saved time and taxpayer money by creating a database of 1.9 million digitally scanned image files of roadway construction plans, available at the click of a button online. This 13-year project replaced the old, cumbersome method of reviewing plans in person.
9. Utah -- SR-171 3500 South Reconstruction: The $41 million Utah Department of Transportation project rebuilt 1.2 miles of urban arterial, converting it from a 5-lane road into an 8-lane boulevard that serves as the major east/west transportation corridor for the Salt Lake Valley without disrupting local businesses.
10. Washington -- Operation I-5 Partnership to Relieve Congestion: The Washington State Department of Transportation encouraged a coalition of organizers to join forces to creatively solve the traffic problem that stretched for miles through a military base nestled between Tacoma and Olympia, an area seeing robust growth in economy and population.
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is the "Voice of Transportation" representing State Departments of Transportation in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. AASHTO is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association serving as a catalyst for excellence in transportation. Follow us on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/aashtospeaks.
