Overview

Every year, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, AAA, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce recognize the best transportation projects across America and highlight the benefits they provide to communities throughout the country.

The awards are divided into three categories:

1.- Quality of Life & Community Development: This category highlights how projects improve safety, mobility, connectivity and economic vitality across communities. Entries should clearly state how transportation officials will enhance safety, reduce congestion, benefit other transportation modes and encourage long-term economic development upon project completion.

2.- Best Use of Innovation: This category recognizes best practices in the use of innovative methods and techniques throughout the project. Entries should clearly state the overall benefits from applying innovation and implementing technology to their practices, and why such tactics were chosen over conventional project delivery methods. The category highlights practices that contributed to such things like work zone safety, overall efficiencies, and reduced construction impacts and schedule duration.

3.- Under Budget: This category recognizes best practices in reducing project costs and maximizing resources that promote and ensure fiscal responsibility. Entries should clearly state how transportation officials were able to complete the project by managing and saving tax dollars responsibly.

Each category above is divided into three groups:

• Large (more than $200 million)
• Medium (between $26 million and $199 million)
• Small (less than $25 million)

Projects first compete in four regions and winners are announced throughout the summer. The top 12 projects with the highest scores compete for the national Grand Prize and the People’s Choice Award. This year the winners of these two awards will be announced in Boston at the AASHTO Annual Meeting in November.

Eligible projects were completed or substantially completed and open to the public between January 1 and December 31, 2015.

Direct any questions to Adan Carrillo at acarrillo AT aashto.org or 202-624-3659.