MnDOT named finalist for national transportation award

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, AAA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have named the Minnesota Department of Transportation one of 10 finalists of the “America’s Transportation Award” for the recently completed Highway 169/Interstate 494 reconstruction project in Bloomington, Edina and Eden Prairie.

The $128 million project, which was completed under budget, increases traffic flow and improves safety for all drivers. Using the “Context Sensitive Solutions/Flexible Design” approach in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration, MnDOT made design changes that addressed more than 90 percent of the need and saved approximately $30 million in construction costs.

In 2013, 24 states entered 36 projects in the competition in the “Ahead of Schedule,” “Under Budget,” and “Best Use of Innovation” categories. The 10 finalists received the highest number of overall points during four regional contests, representing each part of the country.

A grand prize will be awarded by a panel of judges, and a People’s Choice Award will be decided by an online popular vote by the public. Winners of both the grand prize and the People’s Choice Award will receive $10,000 each, to be donated to a charity or scholarship of the winner’s choice.

The two awards will be presented Oct. 20 at the AASHTO Annual Meeting in Denver.
Visit http://americastransportationawards.org/ to learn more about the project and the AASHTO America’s Transportation Award competition and to cast a vote.