For Immediate Release
September 15, 2023
ICYMI: Top 12 Finalists Compete for Coveted America’s Transportation Awards
FDOT Selected for Sanibel Island Emergency Access Following Hurricane Ian
WASHINGTON — The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) today unveiled the Top 12 contenders competing for the two national 2023 America’s Transportation Awards. After four rigorous regional competitions earlier this year, state departments of transportation from Texas, Pennsylvania, Utah, South Dakota, Maine, Vermont, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Illinois, Kentucky, and Iowa emerged with the top scores, earning their spots in this year’s distinguished Top 12 list.
With 81 nominations submitted by 36 state DOTs throughout the competition, the Top 12 finalists—which were all the top scoring projects through the regional contests— now vie for the Grand Prize and the People’s Choice Award. Both of these national prizes come with a $10,000 cash award for a charity or transportation-related scholarship of the winners’ choosing.
“These projects selected for our Top 12 list shine a spotlight on our most innovative and impactful projects in this year’s competition,” said AASHTO Executive Director Jim Tymon. “These vital projects deliver a range of benefits for their communities—whether providing emergency services during natural disasters, adding mobility options such as transit and active transportation infrastructure, or working with partners to address larger societal issues like homelessness. These Top 12 projects and initiatives showcase how state DOTs are building more equitable, resilient, and multimodal infrastructure for our communities.”
Sponsored by AASHTO, AAA, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the America’s Transportation Awards contest serves as a catalyst to honor state DOTs and the positive impacts their projects bring to communities across the country. These projects are sorted into three categories – Quality of Life/Community Development, Operations Excellence, and Best Use of Technology & Innovation – further emphasizing the diverse ways transportation infrastructure generates economic growth and improves quality of life.
The Top 12 projects in alphabetical order by state are:
- Florida Department of Transportation’s Hurricane Ian Sanibel Island Emergency Access
- Georgia Department of Transportation’s Historic 5th Street Pedestrian Bridge Rehabilitation Project
- Illinois Department of Transportation’s Jane Byrne Interchange
- Iowa Department of Transportation’s Adult Changing Facilities in Iowa Rest Areas
- Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s Mayfield Tornado Response
- Maine Department of Transportation’s The Veranda Plan
- North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Flood Warning System
- Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Emergency Fern Hollow Bridge Replacement Project
- South Dakota Department of Transportation’s U.S. Highway 83 Corridor Improvements and Reconstruction
- Texas Department of Transportation’s Mobility35 Initiative to Address Homelessness (IAH) Program
- Utah Department of Transportation’s Teamed-Up for Transit: UDOT and UTA Partner to Improve Mobility for Local Community
- Vermont Agency of Transportation’s Lamoille Valley Rail Trail
The Grand Prize recipient will be selected by an independent panel of judges, while the People’s Choice Award will be given to the project that garners the highest number of online votes from the general public, weighted by state population. AASHTO will unveil the winners of these prizes at its annual meeting on Nov. 15 in Indianapolis. Online voting continues through 11:59 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 14. Individuals can cast no more than one vote per day per project.
###
www.fdot.gov | Twitter: @MyFDOT | Facebook: @MyFDOT
The Florida Department of Transportation’s mission is to provide a safe transportation system that ensures the mobility of people and goods, enhances economic prosperity and preserves the quality of the state’s environment and communities. The department is committed to building a transportation system that not only fits the current needs of Florida’s residents and visitors but also enhances mobility throughout the state to accommodate its consistent and rapid growth. The unique nature of the Sunshine State and its year-round warm climate provides numerous opportunities to achieve the department’s mission through multiple transportation modes including highways/streets, air, rail, sea, spaceports, transit, and the ever-expanding deployment of bicycle & pedestrian facilities.