The Utah Department of Transportation earned an AASHTO Regional award for its work on I-15 Lehi Main to SR 92.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) recently announced the Top 12 finalists in the 2021 America's Transportation Awards competition.

Work on I-15 — known as the Technology Corridor —Lehi Main to SR 92, has earned the Utah of Department of Transportation the selection of Quality of Life/Community Development in the competition. This project falls under the category of "large" projects in the competition as the job eclipsed more than $200 million in construction costs.

Sponsored by AASHTO, AAA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the competition evaluates projects in three categories: Quality of Life/Community Development; Best Use of Technology & Innovation; and Operations Excellence. The projects also are divided into three sizes: small (projects costing up to $25 million); medium (projects that cost between $26 million to $200 million); and large (more than $200 million).

"While the last 18 months have brought so much uncertainty, one thing that has remained the same is the commitment from state DOTs to deliver a safe and efficient multimodal transportation system for our communities," AASHTO Executive Director Jim Tymon said in a statement. "This competition recognizes just a few examples that highlight the ways in which state DOTs are improving quality of life and economic vitality of our communities, saving time and money through new innovations and technologies, and making better use of assets already in place.

Project's Need

Rapid growth in Lehi led to traffic congestion along the I-15 corridor, impacting drivers and surrounding communities. To address this and to prepare the area for continued growth, the UDOT, with the help of contractor crews, completed a $415 million project that reconfigured I-15 and made multimodal improvements. Through extensive concept analysis and stakeholder collaboration with the business community, transit agency, local municipality and area planning authorities, the team developed an active transportation network with shared-use paths parallel to the frontage roads and safer crossings at S.R. 92, Triumph Boulevard and 2100 North. The trail network includes multiple structures to keep bicyclists and pedestrians separated and safely away from vehicle traffic. Now all drivers and non-motorized commuters experience a safer, more connected transportation system that better serves the community.

"The Tech Corridor project was much more than just a transportation project for motor vehicles," said Lehi City Community Development Director Kim Struthers. "Along with it, we now have a great looped bike and pedestrian path on each side of the freeway. This will allow easier commuting to our employment center by alternate modes of transportation. It will also serve recreational users, and allows bikers, walkers and joggers to tie into the extensive surrounding network of trails including the Murdock Canal Trail, Jordan River Parkway Trail and the Southern Rail Trail. A key component to the looped trail system are the grade separated crossings at the I-15 at the SR 92 interchange, Triumph Boulevard and State Street that allow people to get across the freeway and major arterial roads in a much safer and comfortable way."

Mitchell Shaw, UDOT's communications manager, said "The biggest challenge was to keep traffic moving while another main north/south corridor in the area, U.S.-89, has been simultaneously under construction."

"While the last 18 months have brought so much uncertainty, one thing that has remained the same is the commitment from state DOTs to deliver a safe and efficient multimodal transportation system for our communities," AASHTO Executive Director Jim Tymon said in a statement. "This competition recognizes just a few examples that highlight the ways in which state DOTs are improving quality of life and economic vitality of our communities, saving time and money through new innovations and technologies, and making better use of assets already in place.

The Top 12 finalists — chosen from 80 nominees from 35 state DOTs via four U.S. regional contests — now compete for the grand prize and the People's Choice Award. Both prizes come with a $10,000 cash award, for a charity or transportation-related scholarship of the winners' choosing, according to AASHTO.

Those other finalists competing for the prize include:

• Arizona DOT — Fourth Street Bridge over Interstate 40 (Quality of Life/Community Development, Medium Project group)
• Delaware DOT — Margaret Rose Henry Bridge and Approach Roads (Operations Excellence, Medium Project group)
• Florida DOT — Leveraging Innovation: How FDOT Transformed the Gateway to Florida Keys (Best Use of Technology & Innovation, Small Project group)
• Indiana DOT — Grand Valley Boulevard Bridge (Quality of Life/Community Development, Small Project group)
• Kansas DOT — Turner Diagonal: Partnering for Growth (Operations Excellence, Medium Project group)
• Kentucky Transportation Cabinet — Brent Spence Bridge Emergency Repair Project (Operations Excellence, Small Project group)
• New Jersey DOT — Route 1 Permanent Hard Shoulder Running Project (Operations Excellence, Small Project group)
• North Carolina DOT — Reconstruction of Salem Parkway (U.S. 421/I-40 Business) (Quality of Life/Community Development, Medium Project group)
• Oregon DOT — I-84 Snow Zone Safety Improvement Project (Operations Excellence, Small Project group)
• Pennsylvania DOT — Ohiopyle Multimodal Gateway (Quality of Life/Community Development, Small Project group)
• South Carolina DOT — S.C. 61 Phase 1 (Rural Road Safety Program) (Operations Excellence, Small Project group)

AASHTO will announce the grand prize winner and the People's Choice Award winner during its annual meeting in San Diego, Oct. 26 to 29.

"These final projects are just a small sampling of the many ways in which state DOTs are making communities safer and supporting economic development," said Tymon, "Whether deploying innovations to save time and money or exploring strategies to move more people and goods, state DOTs are delivering projects and programs that create a more efficient transportation system for the movement of goods and services." CEG

Today's top stories