Nine projects from five states were named the top transportation projects as Mid America regional winners for the 2017 America’s Transportation Awards. The awards were presented during the Mid America Association of State Transportation Officials’ (MAASTO) annual meeting in Cleveland, Ohio.
The northeast regional winners of the America’s Transportation Awards were announced earlier this month, and the western regional winners were recognized in June.
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the AAA motor club and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce sponsor the America’s Transportation Awards program, which honors the best transportation projects in the categories of Quality of Life/Community Development, Best Use of Technology and Innovation and Operations Excellence. This is the tenth year of the program.
Regional state officials submitted 22 projects from nine states for the Mid America region this year. The winners include:
Minnesota DOT won in the small category (projects costing under $25 million) for its Highway 61/Main Street Project.
“The Minnesota Department of Transportation and the city of Red Wing recognized a need for pavement improvements on Highway 61 on city’s Main Street while also giving pedestrians easier access and additional safety protection across Highway 61. The $9.7 million project took place in the historic river town’s downtown, a crossroads of sort, connecting bicycle trails, pedestrians, a river port and an Amtrak station. MnDOT recommended and supported the city in two grants that provided bump outs and other traffic calming devices and helped the project change from a mill and overlay into a full reconstruction. MnDOT was able to split the project in two shorter construction seasons to not heavily impact the fall tourist season.”
