Thanks to eight transportation projects, the regional northeast took a slew of 2023 America’s Transportation Awards from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation (AASHTO) last week.
These projects addressed emergency repairs, active transportation infrastructure, and safety improvements alike, targeting major improvements for their respective communities in Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.
They were chosen from 19 projects nominated by nine states in the Northeast Association of State Transportation Officials (NASTO) region. In total, this year’s awards included 81 nominations submitted by 36 state DOTs, which were then sorted into categories – Quality of Life/Community Development, Operations Excellence and Best Use of Technology & Innovation – and regional interest. Nominees compete first on a regional level against similarly sized projects.
“From employing cutting-edge technology to crafting multimodal options in local communities, these winning projects from the Northeastern region of the United States embody the inventive spirit of the transportation sector,” Jim Tymon, executive director of AASHTO, said. “The America’s Transportation Awards program celebrates state DOTs nationwide as they cater to today’s transportation needs and advance the transportation sector for future generations. These projects make significant strides in boosting safety, promoting mobility, and enhancing transportation assets for all transit users, including drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, and public transportation customers.”
Winning regional projects this year included:
- Vermont Agency of Transportation’s Lamoille Valley Rail Trail (Quality of Life/Community Development, Small category)
- Connecticut Department of Transportation’s Interchange 33 on Interstate 95 in Stratford (Quality of Life/Community Development, Medium category)
- New Jersey Department of Transportation’s Route 71/Shark River Bridge Emergency Repair and Road Diet (Operations Excellence, Small category)
- Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s I-70 Yukon and Madison Interchanges Improvement Project (Operations Excellence, Medium category)
- Connecticut Department of Transportation’s Charter Oak Bridge (Operations Excellence, Large category)
- Maine Department of Transportation’s The Veranda Plan (Best Use of Technology & Innovation, Small category)
- Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Emergency Fern Hollow Bridge Replacement Project (Best Use of Technology & Innovation, Medium category)
- New York State Department of Transportation’s Kew Gardens Interchange (Best Use of Technology & Innovation, Large category)
The awards themselves are a joint creation of AASHTO, AAA, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Once all regional meetings have concluded, finalists will be narrowed down to a top 12 of the three highest-scoring projects from each region. They then compete for the two America’s Transportation Awards national prizes. Ultimately, a grand prize recipient will be chosen by a panel of judges, whereas a people’s choice award will be granted to whoever wins the highest number of online votes from the general public.
Both should be announced in November.