The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) recently honored two Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) projects as regional winners with 2024 America’s Transportation Awards.
The US-41 reconstruction project in Houghton won the Quality of Life/Community Development award in the Small Project category, while the high-speed lane separation project on US-31/M-72 in Acme Township won in the Safety award in the Small Project category.
MDOT and the City of Houghton rebuilt 1.1 miles of US-41 from MacInnes Drive to Isle Royale Street to improve traffic flow and increase pedestrian safety. Work included
converting the four-lane boulevard section to two lanes with designated turn lanes at major intersections, widening College Avenue to add a center left-turn lane, and reducing from three lanes to two on the east end of Montezuma Avenue.
MDOT built a center median island and repaved US-31/M-72 between Holiday Road and Five Mile Road. Work included adding a 6-foot-wide centerline buffer area with intermittent raised median islands.
The projects will be considered for the competition’s Top 12. The Top 12 will be announced in early September and will compete for the Grand Prize and the People’s Choice Award that will be announced at the AASHTO Annual Meeting in Philadelphia in October.