Eight state department of transportation projects from Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia recently received regional 2023 America’s Transportation Awards for the positive impact on their respective communities; whether by offering emergency repairs in the aftermath of a hurricane, offering new pedestrian features to encourage active transportation, or developing cutting-edge technology for the future that will save lives.
This year’s regional winners were selected from a pool of 19 projects nominated by nine states in the Southern Association of State Transportation Officials or SASHTO region.
About America’s Transportation Awards
The America’s Transportation Awards competition – created by AASHTO, AAA, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – honors state DOTs and the positive impacts their projects bring to communities across the country. With 81 nominations submitted by 36 state DOTs throughout the contest, the America’s Transportation Awards projects are categorized into three groups – Quality of Life/Community Development, Operations Excellence, and Best Use of Technology & Innovation – further showcasing the crucial role that transportation plays for drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, and public transit users.
This year’s winning Florida project is the I-4 Ultimate project.
About the I-4 Ultimate Project
The Florida Department of Transportation’s $2.3 billion I-4 Ultimate project significantly improved access to homes, schools, businesses, and world-famous attractions. I-4 was built in the 1960s when the population of the Orlando metropolitan area was around 200,000. Now, more than 2.5 million residents live along the corridor, and tourism traffic has swelled with the opening of major attractions along I-4. The highway needed to be updated to meet the needs of the present population and prepare for future projected growth. With this major I-4 Ultimate reconstruction, the biggest innovation was the I-4 Express, which consists of two tolled managed lanes in each direction to improve travel time reliability. Focusing on multimodal mobility, this project also included a pedestrian bridge and tunnel to benefit non-motorists.
For more information, visit: I-4 Ultimate Improvement Project.
The National Winner
Once all the regional meetings have concluded, the “Top 12” list of finalists will be announced – comprised of the three highest scoring projects from each region. Those top 12 contenders will then compete for the two 2023 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 in Indianapolis. 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 SASHTO nominees.
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