Six state DOTs win southeastern regional America’s Transportation Awards

Updated Aug 15, 2015
The MacArthur Causeway, part of the Florida Department of Transportations Port of Miami Tunnel project.The MacArthur Causeway, part of the Florida Department of Transportations Port of Miami Tunnel project.

The transportation departments from Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina and South Carolina each received America’s Transportation Awards during the recent Southeastern Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (SASHTO) annual meeting.

Awards were given to eight projects spread across three categories: Best Use of Innovation, Under Budget and Quality of Life/Community Development.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, AAA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce co-sponsor the America’s Transportation Awards. Four regional competitions are held and the 10 winners with the highest overall scores are selected as finalists for the National Grand Prize, People’s Choice Award and $10,000 in prizes. Two national winners will be recognized at AASHTO’s annual meeting Sept. 24-28 in Chicago.

Winning projects include:

Best Use of Innovation

  • Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department — Don Tyson Parkway Interchange: small size designation, $13.23 million. “Project crews tailored their design around a buried landfill under the interchange to ensure a stable roadway without excavation, completing the project more than six months ahead of schedule and $2.6 million under budget.”
  • Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and Indiana Department of Transportation — Milton-Madison Bridge Project: medium project designation, $103 million. “By sliding the new bridge onto refurbished piers, crews were able to reduce the bridge closure by 11 months.“
  • Florida Department of Transportation — Port of Miami Tunnel: large size designation, $666 million. “The project successfully built the largest soft ground bored road tunnel in North America, decreasing traffic congestion in downtown Miami by providing a direct link between the Port of Miami and the interstate highway system, supporting freight and regional commerce.”

Under Budget

  • Florida Department of Transportation — I-595 Corridor: large project designation, $1.22 billion. “This project relieved congestion and created a multimodal transportation network along I-595 in South Florida. Through a public-private partnership, design and construction teams completed the project on time and $275 million below the original estimated cost.”
  • North Carolina Department of Transportation — I-485/85 Interchange: medium project designation, $92 million. “The completed project provides travelers along I-77, I-485, and I-85 with direct access to each of these interstates, optimizes access to the city, and completes the Charlotte Outer Loop.
  • South Carolina Department of Transportation — Cypress Gardens Road Bridge: small project designation, $3.5 million. “This project was a quick and cost-effective solution to restore access to a local bridge destroyed by a derailed train. The project was completed three weeks ahead of schedule and 19 percent under budget.”

Quality of Life/Community Development

  • Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department — State Aid Street Program: medium project designation, $25.2 million. “The project provided municipalities with necessary funding to preserve, update, and maintain vital roads in their communities. More than 250 projects have received funds, with 64 projects completed in 2014.”
  • South Carolina Department of Transportation — Assembly Street Improvement project: small project designation, $4.5 million. “The project enhanced pedestrian and transit safety with improved sidewalks and transit shelters and was completed more than three months ahead of schedule and $1.5 million under budget.”