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The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is seeking nominations for the 2024 America’s Transportation Awards competition and its President’s Transportation Awards.
AASHTO said the online nomination portal for the 2024 America’s Transportation Awards is open through April 12. Click here to submit a nomination for this year’s contest.
This program, now in its 17th year, seeks to highlight the important work state departments of transportation do every day to improve quality of life, spur economic development, utilize innovative new technologies/programs/processes, and make communities safer. Sponsored by AASHTO, AAA, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the 2024 competition now features a new safety category and increases the number of projects a state DOT can nominate to four, instead of the traditional three.
Projects first compete on a regional level, with winners announced throughout the summer. After the regional competitions, the three highest scoring projects from each region are named to a “Top 12” list of finalists who go on to compete for the two top prizes – the Grand Prize and the People’s Choice award.
Meanwhile, the 2024 President’s Transportation Awards honor individuals or teams at state DOTs that have performed exemplary service during the year; work that has made their communities better. Nominations can be made by AASHTO member chief executive officers or by the chairs of AASHTO committees or councils. The online nomination portal can be accessed by clicking here, while a roundup of the 2023 winners is available by clicking here.
The annual President’s Transportation Awards program now covers six broad categories versus seven in the past as safety has shifted to a standalone category in the 2023 America’s Transportation Award competition. This allows for greater sharing of best practices on a regional and national level, as the competition highlights all nominees and winners on a greater scale and allows for more sharing of best practices.
The six President’s Transportation Awards categories are:
Administration and Organizational Excellence, which honors individuals and teams who have provided their state exemplary support in meeting its goals and/or fulfilling its mission.
Environment and Planning, which honors individuals and teams who have had success in implementing a robust planning process within their agencies that is multimodal, multidisciplinary, innovative, and consensus-oriented while also promoting environmental stewardship.
Research, which highlights the efforts of individuals and teams who have championed research for their state DOT and the transportation field overall. These individuals and teams have supported/contributed high-quality transportation research and innovation to improve the movement of people and goods.
Equity, which honors individuals and teams that worked to advance principles of equity and produce and foster a culture that empowers individuals in underrepresented populations (age, gender, ethnicity, race, etc.) by intentionally expanding opportunities within a community or a state DOT.
Partnerships, which recognizes individuals and teams who have engaged with other organizations and embraced the richness of other perspectives represented in the broader transportation community, all in the name of delivering a stronger and better transportation system.
Mobility, which honors individuals and teams who have improved mobility for the communities they serve. Honorees focus on opening up transportation access and expanding mobility options within their states.
Learn more about the America’s Transportation Awards and the 2023 winners by clicking here. Information courtesy of AASHTO. Learn more here.