FHWA ANNOUNCES 1998 EXCELLENCE IN HIGHWAY DESIGN AWARDS

Federal Highway Administration
November 18, 1998

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, November 18, 1998
Contact: Karen Whitney
Telephone: 202-366-0660
FHWA 55-98

Federal Highway Administrator Kenneth R. Wykle has announced the winning entries in the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Excellence in Highway Design Competition. The competition recognizes excellence in the design of highways and highway-related facilities and projects that contribute to a more pleasing highway experience.

"These award-winning projects demonstrate that transportation facilities do so much more than simply move people and goods," Wykle said. "I am pleased to recognize the ingenuity and skill of the men and women who conceive and construct the best of America’s highway designs."

A biennial event since 1980, the competition has attracted over 2000 entries from federal agencies, state and local governments, design firms, and others which have completed noteworthy highway projects. The winners are selected by a panel representing various transportation, engineering and community interests.

The 1998 awards, presented during the annual meeting of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in Boston, are as follows:

URBAN HIGHWAYS

    

        
Excellence Award: Long
        Island Expressway / Seaford Oyster Bay Interchange
        Improvement Project, New York State Department of
        Transportation Region 10.
        
Merit Award: Palmetto
        Expressway Construction, Florida Department of Transportation.
        
Merit Award: Route 509
        Relocation, Washington State Department of
        Transportation.
    


RURAL HIGHWAYS


    

        
Excellence Award: Interstate
        Route H-3, Hawaii Department of Transportation.
        
Merit Award: State Route
        91 Through Sardine Canyon, Utah Department of
        Transportation.
        
Merit Award: Reconstruction
        of Beeline Highway, State Route 87, Arizona Department of
        Transportation.
    


MAJOR STRUCTURES, OVER $10 MILLION


    

        
Excellence Award:
        Columbus Front Door Project, Columbus, Ind.
    



    

        
Merit Award: Second Blue
        Water Bridge, Michigan Department of Transportation and
        the Blue Water Bridge Authority.
    



    

        
Merit Award: Wabashaw
        Street Bridge, City of St Paul, Minn.
    


MAJOR STRUCTURES, UNDER $10 MILLION 


    

        
Excellence Award: Portland
        Avenue Bridge, City of Beloit, Wis.
    



    

        
Merit Award: Five Mile
        Bridge - Old Stage Road over the Illinois and Michigan
        Canal, Grundy County Highway Department.
    



    

        
Merit Award: Bridgeville,
        Calif., Bridge Replacement.
    


ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND
ENHANCEMENTS


    

        
Excellence Award (tie):
        Falcon Nest Boxes, Virginia Department of Transportation
        ; Lief Ericson Park Rose Garden, Minnesota Department
        of Transportation.
    



    

        
Merit Award: Beach
        Lake Mitigation Bank, California Department of
        Transportation, District 3.
    


HISTORIC PRESERVATION


    

        
Excellence Award: Main
        Street Bridge, Pen Yan, N.Y.
    



    

        
Merit Award: Historic
        Columbia River Highway State Trail, Oregon Department of
        Transportation and the Oregon Parks and Recreation
        Department.
        
Merit Award:
        Bardwell’s Ferry Bridge, Conway and Shelburne, Mass.
    


HIGHWAY RELATED PROJECTS


    

        
Excellence Award: The
        Grasshopper Bridge, City of Phoenix Ariz.
        
Merit Award: Earthquake
        Park Interpretive Facility, Municipality of Anchorage,
        Alaska.
        
Merit Award: Cuerno
        Verde Rest Area, Colorado Department of Transportation.
        
Merit Award: Assateague
        Island Pedestrian Bridge, Maryland State Highway
        Administration.
    


INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS


    

        
Excellence Award: The
        AZTECH Partnership, Phoenix Ariz.
    



    

        
Merit Award: "Trans
        Port," Portland, Ore.
    



    

        
Merit Award: E-Z
        Pass Electronic Toll Collection Program of New York
        State.
    



    

        
Merit Award: Trans
        Guide MDI, Texas Department of Transportation.
    


INTERMODAL TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES


    

        
Excellence Award: Sunset
        Transit Center / US Route 26 - State Route 217
        Interchange, Oregon Department of Transportation and
        Tri-Met.
    



    

        
Merit Award: Port
        of Oakland, California's Jack London Square Amtrak
        Station.
    


HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENTS ON PUBLICLY
OWNED LAND


    

        
Excellence Award: George
        Washington Memorial Parkway Reconstruction, Federal
        Highway Administration's Eastern Federal Lands Highway
        Division and the National Park Service.
        
Merit Award: Cumberland
        Gap Tunnel, Kentucky and Tennessee, National Park
        Service.
    



    

        
Merit Award: Ash River
        Visitors Center Road, Voyageurs National Park, Minn.,
        National Park Service.
    



    

        
Merit Award:
        General’s Highway, Sequoia National Park,
        California, National Park Service, and FHWA Central
        Federal Lands Highway Division.