Top National Quality Awards Go to 12 State Highway and Bridge Teams

Austin, TX/September 14, 2005 —Highway teams from some dozen states—representing a wide range of road and bridge projects in every region of the country—have earned top quality awards from the National Partnership for Highway Quality (NPHQ), the highway advocacy group announced today.

The highest such honor, the 2005 National Achievement Award, went to Iowa, according to Bob Templeton, executive director of NPHQ, a growing 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.

Lauding the “innovative thinking, quality design and performance, and cost-effective practices” of the states singled out for honors, Templeton said, “These accomplishments not only reflect the widest possible range of activity but mirror the distinctiveness of every region of our country, north, south, east, and west. We know that our winners this year will continue to set quality standards and lead the pack for years to come. What's more, their achievements will continue to improve the quality of life for the driving public.”

The 2005 award winners include:

• National Achievement Award
  • Iowa Department of Transportation and the Iowa State University Bridge Engineering Center for the US 20 Iowa River Bridge Project
• Special Recognition for a Small Project
  • Texas Department of Transportation, Zachry Construction Corp., and Garza Communications for the US 181 Portland Phase III Reconstruction Project
• Special Recognition for a Structure Project
  • Georgia Department of Transportation, APAC-Georgia, Inc., and CW Matthews Contracting Company for the 17 th Street Bridge Construction Project in Atlanta
• Gold Level Winners
  • Colorado Department of Transportation and Edward Kraemer and Sons, Inc. for the U.S. Clear Creek Canyon Bridge Rehabilitation Project
  • New Jersey Department of Transportation, Gannett Fleming Inc., and Slattery Skanska, Inc. for the Route 18 “Missing Link” Extension Project
  • North Carolina Department of Transportation and APAC-Carolina, Inc. for the I-26 “Missing Link” Construction Project
• State Winners
  • Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department and Gilbert Central Corporation for the I-40 Rehabilitation Project
  • Arizona Department of Transportation, Meridian Engineering Company, Aztec Engineering, design consultant, and EcoPlan Associates, environmental consultant, for the Patagonia Rockfall Public Involvement and Environmental Mitigation on Route 82 Project
  • Oregon Department of Transportation, Project Leader Vivian Payne, and General Contractor Johnny Cat for the Jacksonville Highway Reconstruction Project
  • Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Allan A. Myers, Inc., URS Corporation, and Gannett Fleming, Inc. for the U.S. Route 202 Improvement Project
  • South Dakota Department of Transportation and E. H. Oftedal & Sons, Inc., for the Strawberry Hill U. S. Highway 385 Reconstruction Project
  • Virginia Department of Transportation (Luray Residency) and Fairfield/Skanska, Inc. for the US Route 340 Bridge Replacement Project

Templeton noted how each project represented “the application of quality practices, innovative thinking, and stakeholder-oriented planning.” He cited Iowa's top-winning use of incremental launching—for the first time in the United States—to erect an I-girder pre-cast concrete highway bridge, resulting in minimal disturbance to the surrounding area, smaller and more concentrated construction sites, and better worker safety—thus resolving more than 35 years of studies and problems and increasing congestion.

Cutting edge, innovative thinking can be applied to assignments of all sizes and kinds. When Texas wanted to upgrade a four-lane roadway to a six-lane freeway spanning Corpus Christi to Portland in an environmentally sensitive area, district planners and the contractor got together to produce improvements ahead of schedule and under budget. “They were 145 days ahead of schedule,” said Templeton, “and that's an ideal example of the kind of achievement these awards illustrate and recognize.”

Georgia was also faced with a formidable challenge: constructing an east-west, multi-modal alternate through Midtown Atlanta over the US I-75/I-85 Downtown connector, while somehow addressing congestion, traffic flow, and environmental concerns. But, armed with continual public contact and support, as well as innovative approaches to traffic flow and natural resources, “the Georgia teams made it all pay off,” said Templeton. He noted that the huge, multifaceted undertaking was completed in just two years, and that both the governor and mayor were on hand to happily cut the ceremonial ribbon and attest to the project's success.

Colorado set a standard of a different sort, when US 6 through Clear Creek Canyon reopened to traffic after no fewer than three bridges were reconstructed--and not in the 90 days such enterprises normally take but in a record 12 days of minimal disruption to the traveling public and to the environment.

A problem of possibly historic dimensions presented itself to New Jersey, which wanted to complete the “missing link” on Route 18 on the state highway system while contending with a mandated recovery of historical relics from the Raritan Landing Archeological District, dating from the 1700s, which underlies the roadway. By building consensus and balancing competing resources while harnessing every kind of out-of-the-box thinking, the project team delivered a new roadway while furnishing the entire state with something to learn from its past.

Another “missing link” was found in North Carolina, 10 ½ new miles of US 19 in Madison County, connecting it ultimately with South Carolina and then Ohio—a section that had been unfinished (and thus “missing”) for years until teamwork provided the answer. The team—local citizens, officials, and contractors, along with North Carolina DOT and other official stakeholders—went on to combine customer focus, innovation, and an emphasis on value engineering to produce an on-time, finished roadway with several awards to its credit.

In Arkansas, it was teamwork of a different sort—between the state DOT and its main contractor, Gilbert Central Corp.— that made for an award-winning rehabilitation of 11 miles of Highway 25, meeting a tight construction schedule by using two hot mix asphalt plants that allowed two crews to pave simultaneously. In addition, the job provided incentive payments for early completion and the smoothness of ride, both of which were notable.

Environmental challenges themselves were the driving force in Arizona, where a highway realignment project on Route 82, a favorite of tourists and bird-watchers, had to factor in several possibilities: a severe rockfall hazard, possible damage to a nearby creek, and disturbing the birds and their unique habitat. Arizona's Public Involvement and Environmental Mitigation process ultimately resulted in the work not only achieving the desired safety result but in new construction of considerable beauty and utility, acclaimed by travelers and bird-watchers alike.

Oregon's “Wild West” town of Jacksonville, barely changed form the 1800s and the site of a number of movie shoots, balanced the need for a Highway 238 reconstruction project right through the center of town with the competing needs of a historic, tourist-oriented community. By drawing the townsfolk directly into the process, the work was completed, to everyone's satisfaction, before the height of the summer tourist season. The renowned Britt Festival of Music went on as planned.

In direct contrast, nestled within a burgeoning high-tech and business corridor near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's Route 202 design planners solved the traffic congestion dilemma within the project area and exceeded the expectations of PennDOT, the business community, and the traveling public with a combination of ingenuity and innovation that even managed to maintain traffic capacity throughout construction.

Virginia's Route 340 involved the reconstruction of a bridge over part of Route 683 and the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks, and, working together as a team, VDOT and its Virginia Transportation Construction Alliance provided the design and construction know-how that produced impressive results ahead of schedule, under budget, and with an excellent safety record.

“We could go into more detail, but these glimpses from across the country help to tell the story of highway quality—and why these states continue to lead the way for all of us,” said Templeton.

The NPHQ awards are judged on overall quality; the partnership between state departments of transportation and private contractors; technical and materials innovations; the effectiveness and creativity of public involvement; whether and how projects met or exceeded expected deadlines, costs, and deliverables; responsiveness to environmental needs and opportunities; and adherence to other principles of quality management.

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