Transportation Projects win America's Transportation Award.

Press Release Summary:



Sponsored by AASHTO, AAA, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce, competition honored state department of transportation projects from Mississippi Valley region. Projects were judged according to size in Innovative Management, On Time, and On Budget construction. Signature gateway in Kansas, Wisconsin's largest ever transportation project, and "Blueprint for Safer Roads" in Missouri are among outstanding transportation projects winning America's Transportation Award.



Original Press Release:



Transportation Projects Improving America Honored by AAA, AASHTO, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce



(Kansas City, MO.) A signature gateway in Kansas, Wisconsin's largest ever transportation project, and a "Blueprint for Safer Roads" in Missouri are among
the outstanding transportation projects winning the prestigious "America's
Transportation Award."

The competition, sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, AAA, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, honored state department of transportation projects from the Mississippi Valley region. Two additional regional contests will be held in the West and South in late-July and August 2008. The top regional winners will compete for the National "America's Transportation Award."

The transportation projects were judged according to their size in three categories: "Innovative Management," "On Time," and "On Budget" construction.

Award recipients in the Mississippi Valley region are:

Winner for "Innovative Management" - Medium Project

Minnesota Department of Transportation

TH36 Reconstruction

North St. Paul

The $27 million Trunk Highway 36 project improved the safety and operation of a two-mile stretch through the Twin Cities suburb of North St. Paul. A joint effort of Minnesota DOT, Ramsey County, and the city of North St. Paul, the project converted a four-lane expressway into a freeway by eliminating traffic signals from six intersections. Project managers decided to close the highway for five months to speed up construction; one of several new planning, procurement, and construction innovations that were implemented. Workers completed the freeway segment a year earlier than originally envisioned.

"By closing the highway," said Tom Ravn, MnDOT's acting construction and innovative contracting director, "we improved safety by minimizing conflicts involving workers and motorists, eliminated the need to build temporary road accesses, and completed the project in about half the time a limited closure would have required."

Winner for "Innovative Management" - Small Project

Missouri Department of Transportation

Comprehensive Safety Approach

Statewide

MoDOT formed the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety in 2004 to reduce the number of fatal crashes on the state's roads. The department partnered with more than 150 entities including state and local governmental agencies, law enforcement, planning organizations, non-profits, business associations, companies, and other safety advocates. The coalition developed a "Blueprint for Safer Roads" and set its top goal as reducing traffic deaths from 1,232 in 2003 to less than 1,000 within five years.

Missouri recorded 993 traffic fatalities in 2007; the coalition thus achieved its
primary goal one year early. Last year's death count was the lowest Missouri experienced since 1993.

"We are very pleased that Missouri led the nation in the reduction of fatal traffic
crashes," said Col. James Keathley, Missouri State Highway Patrol superintendent, "and we are committed to continue working with our trafficsafety partners to further reduce the number of traffic deaths in our state."

Winner for "On Time" - Large Project

Marquette Interchange

Wisconsin Department of Transportation

Milwaukee

An $810 million reconstruction of the Marquette Interchange in Milwaukee - where more than 300,000 vehicles pass through daily using interstates 43, 94, and 794 - is approaching on-time completion this fall. Construction of Wisconsin's largest-ever transportation project began in 2004, replacing an interchange originally opened in 1968 for a capacity of less than half today's traffic volume.

Once the final phase opens to traffic this fall, project managers will have achieved the state's timeframe for completing all work within four years despite numerous complexities encountered.

Frank Busalacchi, Wisconsin's transportation secretary, calls the project "a monumental success. The practices and tools we used for the Marquette Interchange provide models for future transportation projects that will be followed not only in Wisconsin, but in many state across the nation."

Winner for "On Time" - Medium Project

I-35/87th Street/U.S. 69 Interchange

Kansas Department of Transportation

Lenexa

A $66 million rebuilding of an interchange in the Kansas City suburbs - on the most heavily-traveled stretch of highway in the state - opened to traffic in October 2006 thanks to a unique working partnership formed to redo the 1960s-era design. KDOT, through the state's Comprehensive Transportation Program, let the city of Lenexa take the lead on designing the new "Single Point Urban Interchange" and set the construction schedule. Lenexa and neighbor Overland Park contributed $17.5
million of the project's budget.

This unusual partnership agreement, regionally unique design, unprecedented public involvement, and development of a precise construction timeline led to an on-time completion of the interchange where Interstate 35 meets 87th Street and U.S. 69.

"The business community and residents were greatly impacted by this construction project and bringing it in on time and on budget was very important," said Lenexa Mayor Michael Boehm. The interchange "is now a signature gateway to the cities of Lenexa and Overland Park on I-35."

The winning entries have received top honors but each of the projects entered
demonstrates a remarkable achievement in transportation. A summary of other entries:

Entered for "Innovative Management" - Small Project

Ontonagon River Bridge

Michigan Department of Transportation

Ontonagon

After a 1939 swing-span structure spanning the Ontonagon River incurred damage from spring ice floes, MDOT partnered with the village of Ontonagon to make emergency repairs and then construct a new bridge.

The I-35/87th Street/US-69 Interchange in Lenexa, KS - winner of one of America's
Transportation Awards for the Mississippi Valley Region.

The $20 million project included a new 1,700-foot bridge half a mile upstream from the exiting bridge, a lighted carpool parking lot, landscaped entryway to downtown, a multi-use pathway, wetland mitigation site, repairs to local streets, and relocation of the old swing bridge operator's cabin to a nearby park. The new bridge opened to traffic in October 2006.

Entered for "On Time" - Medium Project

Smooth Roads Initiative

Missouri Department of Transportation

Statewide

After Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2004 redirecting some highway user fees to MoDOT, the agency launched several projects including the Smooth Roads Initiative. This effort improved 2,200 miles of state highways by repaving, improving shoulders, installing brighter stripes and signs, and adding reflective pavement markers, rumble strips, and safer guardrails. Meeting a challenge issued by Gov. Matt Blunt, the department completed the $160 million endeavor in December 2006 after only two years - a full year ahead of the original schedule.

Entered for "On Time" - Medium Project

Lodge Freeway Reconstruction

Michigan Department of Transportation

Detroit and Southfield

MDOT needed to complete a $140 million reconstruction of the 16-mile Lodge Freeway - Michigan 10 from downtown Detroit to Southfield - during one construction season to minimize motorist delays. The department employed a single consultant to mange the entire project, which it split into three construction segments. Full closures were used to accelerate construction plans. The entire freeway opened to traffic in late August 2007, 10 days ahead of schedule and just in time for the travel-heavy Labor Day
weekend.

Find out more, visit www.americastransportationaward.org. The next regional contest will be held in Portland, Oregon July 21, 2008. The National Awards will be presented at the AASHTO Annual Meeting in Hartford, Connecticut October 19, 2008.

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