Six Northeastern State DOT Projects Receive Regional Transportation Awards

Sponsored by AASHTO, AAA, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the competition serves as a way to recognize state DOTs and highlights the projects they deliver that make their communities a better place to live, work, and play

Six state department of transportation projects in Delaware, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania earned regional recognition in the America’s Transportation Awards for projects that provided safer multi-modal options around a popular state park, allowed for better community access to outdoor recreational activities, and reduced rush hour congestion for people driving home to their families each day, among other benefits.  

“As the COVID-19 pandemic forced many Americans to drastically change work patterns, state DOT employees continued the harrowing work of keeping our transportation systems operating safely and efficiently for those who had to travel, whether by vehicle or other means,” said Jim Tymon, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. “The America’s Transportation Awards program highlights just a few of the projects and programs across the country that had a positive impact on our communities’ quality of life during an otherwise uncertain time.” 

Sponsored by AASHTO, AAA, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the competition serves as a way to recognize state DOTs and highlights the projects they deliver that make their communities a better place to live, work, and play. Project nominations fall into one of three categories: Operations Excellence, Best Use of Technology & Innovation, and Quality of Life/Community Development. All nominated projects will first compete on a regional level against projects of their own size: “Small” (projects costing up to $25 million), “Medium” (projects costing between $26 million and $200 million), and “Large” (projects costing more than $200 million).

In the Northeast region, seven states nominated 16 projects. As a result, four state DOTs took home the following six America’s Transportation Awards.

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation — Ohiopyle Multimodal Gateway project (Quality of Life/Community Development, Small category)

New Hampshire Department of Transportation — Spaulding Turnpike Improvements (Quality of Life/Community Development, Medium category)

New Jersey Department of Transportation — Route 1 Permanent Hard Shoulder Running project (Operations Excellence, Small category)

Delaware Department of Transportation — Margaret Rose Henry Bridge and Approach Roads project (Operations Excellence, Medium category)

New Hampshire Department of Transportation — I-93 Expansion project (Operations Excellence, Large category)

New Jersey Department of Transportation — Transportation Asset Management System (Best Use of Technology & Innovation, Small category)

More on America’s Transportation Awards categories:

• Community Development/Quality of Life – 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 – Recognizes the use of new technology and creative solutions implemented by a state DOT.
• Operations Excellence – Recognizes projects that deliver a more reliable, well-functioning, and safer transportation system through operational solutions.

The three highest-scoring projects from each regional competition earn a place on a “Top 12” list of projects that will compete for the national Grand Prize – selected by an independent panel of industry judges – and the People’s Choice Award, chosen by the general public through online voting. In addition, those top national winners each receive $10,000 cash awards to be donated to a charity or scholarship of the state DOT’s choosing.

The 12 finalists will be announced and online voting for the People’s Choice Award will begin in September. Both the People’s Choice Award and the Grand Prize will be announced this October at the AASHTO Annual Meeting in San Diego. Visit https://americastransportationawards.org/ to learn more about this year’s nominees and to view the awards presentation.

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