Since the first win in 1993, the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) has taken special pride in recognition earned from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in their annual awards. It is a chance to measure ITD against the other state departments of transportation in the region and across the country. It’s the rare competition where the size of the budget for construction, outreach or marketing does not count against a small, mostly rural state like Idaho. The AASHTO President’s Awards are considered the highest honor for state departments of transportation. Since 2010, ITD has won 23 of them – it’s proof positive that we consistently produce great projects on behalf of the taxpayers of Idaho. Below are the most recent of the national President’s awards, followed by a listing of the earlier honors.
2024 President’s Award for Environment & Planning
Idaho’s first wildlife overpass was built on State Highway 21 just east of Boise. The $7.5M project constructed a 150-foot long wildlife overpass and more than a mile of big-game fencing parallel to the highway to guide animals to the overpass, significantly reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions on this busy highway section. Improving motorist safety and protecting the well-being of residents and commuters, along with wildlife alike benefits the traveling public, hunting and recreational heritage, and helps sustain the benefits our valuable wildlife resources and public lands provide. ITD wildlife-vehicle crash safety data and Dept. of Fish and Game GPS data determined the location of the overpass by finding where most migrating mule deer and elk crossed the highway. This is the next step in the long-range vision to promote safety, mobility, and economic opportunity along SH-21 between Lucky Peak and Idaho City. The goal is to reduce wildlife collisions in the area by 80%.
2024 President’s Award for Equity
The $11M McArthur Lake project in northern Idaho reconstructs an existing two-lane section, adds wider shoulders, and replaces a width-restricted box culvert over Deep Creek, which provides an outlet to McArthur Lake. The existing box culvert will be replaced with two 150-foot span bridges that will provide safe animal passage under the highway. But this project was about more than typical road construction. Key partnerships between ITD, the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho (KTOI), and contractors helped preserve and bring better understanding to the rich history of the area’s indigenous people. A radiocarbon date from artifacts discovered during construction pre-dates the earliest-known sites in the area, meaning that the earliest-known archaeological sites in the upper Columbia River Basin came some 4,000 years earlier than previously thought, which has major implications in the archaeological world and will change the future of archaeological studies for the region. Not only has the Tribe been able to find amazing artifacts that will change the way people think about KTOI cultural history, but many have formed relations with one another and grown individually by researching their own history.
- 2022 AASHTO President’s Award in Safety, for Taking Inventory of Idaho’s Highway Assets
- 2021 AASHTO President’s Award in Highways, for District 1 Pennsylvania Avenue Overpass
- 2021 AASHTO President’s Award in Traffic Safety, for District 3 I-84 Safety, Commerce Enhancement
- 2021 AASHTO President’s Award in Environment, for District 4 Building Wildlife Sanctuaries
- 2020 AASHTO President’s Award in Environment, for District 4 Raft River Reversal
- 2020 AASHTO President’s Award in Highways, for District 2 Transforming Malfunction Junction in Lewiston
- 2019 AASHTO President’s Award in Environment, for District 2 US-12 Lochsa Revival
- 2019 AASHTO President’s Award in Research, for District 3 Swelling Clay of Elephant Butte
- 2018 AASHTO President’s Award in Environment, for District 4 Big Wood River Bridge project
- 2018 AASHTO President’s Award in Planning, for Districts 6, 5 & 4, 17 Bridges collaboration
- 2017 AASHTO President’s Award in Traffic Safety, for District 6 Thornton Interchange
- 2016 AASHTO President’s Award in Environment, for District 2 Osprey nesting platforms
- 2016 AASHTO President’s Award in Program Excellence, for Idaho’s GARVEE program
- 2015 AASHTO President’s Award in Environment, for District 2 Spalding Bridge repair
- 2014 AASHTO President’s Award in Research, to Idaho Freight Study Team
- 2013 AASHTO President’s Award in Administration, for Realignment
- 2013 AASHTO President’s Award in Aeronautics, for iPad Aviation application
- 2013 AASHTO President’s Award in Environment, for District 1 US-95 Sand Creek Byway
- 2011 AASHTO President’s Award in Administration, Wounded Warrior Job Team
- 2010 AASHTO President’s Award in Highways for District 3 Vista IC design
- 2010 AASHTO President’s Award in Traffic Safety, for 511 Traveler Info System
- 2007 AASHTO President’s Award in Environment, for District 6 Henry’s Lake Fish Passages
- 1998 AASHTO President’s Award in Intermodal Transportation, for Idaho Corridor Planning Guidebook
- 1993 AASHTO President’s Award in Traffic Safety, to ITD Office of Highway Safety