Eight state department of transportation projects in Alaska, California, Idaho, Texas, and Washington earned regional recognition in the 2022 America’s Transportation Awards competition. The award contest honored those projects for creating a “compass” to guide active transportation development; providing a safe and reliable evacuation route for an island village; and developing a more equitable and comprehensive public engagement tool for current and future transportation projects, among others.

“State DOTs are overwhelmingly focused on innovative solutions to address the transportation issues of today and tomorrow, meeting challenges involving climate change, equity, resiliency, and safety,” said Jim Tymon, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. “The America’s Transportation Awards program shows just how they’re doing that. Whether on foot, in a vehicle, on two wheels, or by rail or transit, state DOTs are continuing to advance a safe, multimodal transportation system.”

Sponsored by AASHTO, AAA, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the competition serves as a way to recognize state DOTs and highlights the projects they deliver that make their communities a better place to live, work, and play. Project nominations fall into one of three categories: Operations Excellence, Best Use of Technology & Innovation, and Quality of Life/Community Development.

All nominated projects will first compete on a regional level against projects of their own size: “Small” (projects costing up to $25 million), “Medium” (projects costing between $25 million and $200 million), and “Large” (projects costing more than $200 million).

In the Western region, 12 states nominated 22 projects, with five state DOTs taking home the following eight America’s Transportation Awards.

• Washington State Department of Transportation — Active Transportation Plan 2020 and Beyond (Quality of Life/Community Development, Small category)

• Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities — Kivalina Evacuation and School Site Access (Quality of Life/Community Development, Medium category—TIE)

• Washington State Department of Transportation — Mukilteo Multimodal Ferry Terminal (Quality of Life/Community Development, Medium category—TIE)

• Texas Department of Transportation — US 281 North Expansion, Segment 1 (Quality of Life/Community Development, Large category)

• Idaho Transportation Department — Fastlane: Conquering Corridor Challenges (Operations Excellence, Small category)

• Texas Department of Transportation — Lowest Stemmons Project (Operations Excellence, Medium category)

• Washington State Department of Transportation — I-5 Steilacoom-DuPont Rd to Thorne Lane – Corridor Improvements (Operations Excellence, Large category)

• California Department of Transportation — 360 Tours (Best Use of Technology & Innovation, Small category)

The three highest-scoring projects from each regional competition earn a place on a “Top 12” list of projects that will compete for the national Grand Prize – selected by an independent panel of industry judges – and the People’s Choice Award, chosen by the public through online voting. In addition, those top national winners each receive $10,000 cash awards to be donated to a charity or scholarship of the state DOT’s choosing.