Recovery Projects Among Big Transportation Winners in Northeast Competition

WILMINGTON, Del., June 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Highway users in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut and New York are benefiting from less congestion, improved safety, and greater productivity as a result of five projects that were named today as winners in the America's Transportation Awards Northeast regional competition.

"This is really about showcasing the tremendous work being done across the country by state departments of transportation," said John Horsley, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in announcing the winners at the Northeast Association of State Transportation Officials annual meeting in Wilmington, Delaware. "It's always important to give lawmakers on the state and federal level an opportunity to see how the investments being made through the Recovery Act and other sources are being used to create jobs and preserve and modernize or aging highways and bridges. We're working hard and being accountable," Horsley said.

Eight transportation projects from five northeastern states and the District of Columbia were judged in four categories: Best Recovery Act; On Time; Under Budget; and Innovative Management. The five winning projects are now in the running for the America's Transportation Awards Grand Prize and the People's Choice Award, which will be presented this fall.

AASHTO, AAA, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are teaming up for the third year to host the competition to honor America's very best in transportation.

The New York State Department of Transportation received two awards: one for the NYS Route 19 Project in Belmont, which took home a prize in the Under Budget, Small Project category; and another for the U.S. Route 62 Hamburg Project, which won in the Innovative Management, Small Project category.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's Spring Road Bridge Replacement Project won in the Best Recovery Act, Small Project Category. The Hampstead Bypass Project from the Maryland Department of Transportation won in the Innovative Management, Medium Project category. The Connecticut Department of Transportation's U.S. Route 7 Bypass Project won in the On Time, Medium Project category.

Winners in the three remaining regional competitions will also compete for the Grand Prize and People's Choice Award, which will be presented at the AASHTO Annual Meeting in Biloxi, Mississippi, October 31, 2010.

Learn more about the projects and the competition at: www.americastransportationaward.org.

SOURCE American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials