Western DOTs Win Top Prizes in National Transportation Competition

Missoula, MT - Eleven state department of transportation projects from Nebraska, Utah, Texas, North Dakota, California, Idaho and Oklahoma won regional honors in the 2025 America's Transportation Awards competition. From utilizing innovative technology like robotic arms to build bridges to creating a system to help communities find and apply for federal grants, these projects provide long-term benefits to the communities they support.

"The America's Transportation Awards shine a spotlight on the vital projects state DOTs deliver for their communities to enhance safety, expand mobility for users, deliver a better quality of life for residents and visitors, and keep our economy moving," said AASHTO Executive Director Jim Tymon. "The America's Transportation Awards competition continues to show us that state DOTs are able to transform communities in a variety of ways. And as Congress works toward a new federal surface transportation bill, lawmakers need to only look at the tangible benefits that states deliver to their customers through examples like these winners to see why robust federal funding to states is so important."

Selected from 36 projects submitted by 13 states in the Western Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (WASHTO) region, these entries are part of 113 nominations from 35 state DOTs in this year's overall competition. Sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the America's Transportation Awards highlights transportation projects that deliver meaningful community benefits. Projects are judged in four categories-Quality of Life/Community Development, Operations Excellence, Best Use of Technology & Innovation, and Safety-demonstrating transportation's vital role for drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, rail users, and transit riders alike.

This year, AASHTO also asked nominees about the impact of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) on their projects to showcase the importance of federal investment in the nation's transportation systems. Many of the WASHTO regional winners were directly impacted by this historic law, highlighting the vital role the next federal surface transportation law will play in continuing the progress in making communities safer and providing mobility and access for all.

All nominated projects first compete at the regional level against projects of their own size: "Small" (projects costing up to $10 million), "Medium" (projects costing between $10 million and $100 million), and "Large" (projects costing more than $100 million). This year's winning WASHTO projects are:

• Nebraska Department of Transportation's Nebraska Infrastructure HUB (Quality of Life/Community Development, Small Project)
  
• Utah Department of Transportation's Provo 300 South Improved Project (Quality of Life/Community Development, Medium Project)
  
• Texas Department of Transportation's Irving Interchange Improvement Project (Quality of Life/Community Development, Large Project)
  
• North Dakota Department of Transportation's Highway 2 Reduced Conflict Intersections (Operations Excellence, Small Project)
  
• California Department of Transportation Stratford Kings River Bridge (Operations Excellence, Medium Project)
  
• California Department of Transportation's Caltrans Vendor Day (Best Use of Technology & Innovation, Small Project)
  
• Idaho Transportation Department's Robotics On Clearwater Bridge (Best Use of Technology & Innovation, Medium Project)
  
• Nebraska Department of Transportation's Scribner Bypass and Integrated Levee (Best Use of Technology & Innovation, Large Project)
  
• North Dakota Department of Transportation's Wrong Way Detection Project (Safety, Small Project)
  
• California Department of Transportation's State Route 25/156 Turbo Roundabout (Safety, Medium Project)
  
• Oklahoma Department of Transportation's Rural Two-Lane Advancement and Management Plan (RAAMP) Initiative (Safety, Large Project)

Following the WASHTO competition, additional regional competitions will continue throughout the summer. Once all regional winners are announced, the top three scoring projects in each region will advance to the Top 12, which will be revealed in early September. These standout projects will then compete for two national honors in the 2025 America's Transportation Awards.

The Grand Prize will be chosen by an independent panel of judges, while the People's Choice Award will be decided through online public voting. AASHTO will reveal both winners at its annual meeting in November 2025 in Salt Lake City. Each winning project will receive $10,000 to donate to a scholarship fund or charitable cause of their choice.

Visit https://americastransportationawards.org/ to learn more about this year's WASHTO nominees.

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The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials represents State Departments of Transportation in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. AASHTO is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association catalyzing excellence in transportation.