Texas Highway Team Earns National Achievement Award

Game-Changing Corpus Christi Project Beats Budget and Delivery Date

Austin, TX/September 8, 2005 —The National Partnership for Highway Quality (NPHQ) announced today that its 2005 Special Recognition for a Small Project award will go to the Texas Department of Transportation, its Corpus Christi district, and to the Zachry Construction Corporation for the engineering and construction of the US 181 Portland Phase III Project spanning Corpus Christi to Portland, Texas.

Announcing the award was Bob Templeton, executive director of NPHQ, a partnership among federal, state, and roadway industry leaders and officials whose advocacy of “customer-centered” practices has produced better, safer, more user-friendly roads and bridges that are completed faster, last longer, and minimize congestion and inconvenience.

Located in an environmentally-sensitive area, the 2.3-mile stretch of what was initially a four-lane roadway posed significant challenges to the team charged with improvements. The assignment: design an upgrade to a six-lane freeway and other major enhancements including box culverts at significant points, two boardwalks with parking facilities, and permanent retaining walls to protect local wildlife and wetlands.

The team not only met the challenge, but completed the construction, working in tandem with interested stakeholders, under budget and in an impressive 145 days ahead of schedule.

“We're gratified at this recognition from our national peers,” said Bill Reitmann P.E., who served as construction manager. “And we think it showed what could be done by drawing on a base of key customer groups as well as our professional collaborators.”

“All kinds of innovative thinking permeated this project,” said Templeton,” who noted that the US 181 venture was “pivotal in changing the planning process within the Corpus Christi district office. By working closely with several government and environmental groups, the contractor, and the community, a significant project was designed to minimize its effects on the both the people of the area and on their environment. It forever changed the mindset of district planners, serving as a model for all transportation planning.”

NPHQ is composed of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the Texas Transportation Institute, the Foundation for Pavement Preservation, the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies, the American Highway Users Alliance, The Associated General Contractors of America, the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Kiewit Corporation, and the URS Corporation. More information is available at www.nphq.org .

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