Twelve state department of transportation projects in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia recently won regional honors in the 2026 America's Transportation Awards competition.
Selected from 34 projects submitted by 11 states in the Southern Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (SASHTO) region, those entries are part of a record 127 nominations from 45 state DOTs in this year's overall competition.
Sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the annual America's Transportation Awards competition honors transportation projects that deliver meaningful benefits to communities. Projects compete in four categories — Quality of Life/Community Development; Operations Excellence; Best Use of Technology & Innovation; and Safety — showcasing the essential role transportation plays in improving mobility, safety and quality of life for all users.
“For almost two decades, the America's Transportation Awards has highlighted the innovative work state DOTs do to improve communities and enhance the lives of the people who live and visit them. But the truth is, these projects are just a fraction of the incredible work done by state DOTs every year,” said Jim Tymon, executive director of AASHTO, in a statement.
“AASHTO is proud to recognize the diverse and forward-thinking projects that are improving safety, mobility and quality of life in communities across the country.
SASHTO screenshot
“As we look forward to the passage of a federal surface transportation reauthorization bill, this year's winners underscore the importance of sustained federal investment in transportation and demonstrate how those resources are delivering meaningful benefits to residents, businesses, and travelers nationwide.”
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 SASHTO regional projects are:
• West Virginia Department of Transportation's Snowshoe Resort Air Service Advanced Mobility Project (Quality of Life/Community Development, Small Project)
• North Carolina Department of Transportation's Mobility for Everyone, Everywhere in N.C. (Quality of Life/Community Development, Medium Project)
• Virginia Department of Transportation's I-495 Express Lanes Northern Extension (495 NEXT) Project (Quality of Life/Community Development, Large Project)
• North Carolina Department of Transportation's Statewide Traffic Management Center Interoperability Initiative (Operations Excellence, Small Project)
• Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development's LA 47 Intracoastal Waterway Gulf Outlet Bridge Rehabilitation (Operations Excellence, Medium Project)
• Florida Department of Transportation's I-275 (Howard Frankland Bridge) Project (Operations Excellence, Large Project)
• Georgia Department of Transportation's Day One Deployment District (Best Use of Technology & Innovation, Small Project)
• Tennessee Department of Transportation's State Route 107/Sgt. Elbert Kinser Bridge Replacement (Best Use of Technology & Innovation, Medium Project)
• Alabama Department of Transportation's Blount County Triple Roundabout (Safety, Small Project)
• Georgia Department of Transportation's Old National Highway Safety Improvements (Safety, Small Project)
• North Carolina Department of Transportation's Investing in Safety: North Carolina's Spot Safety Program (Safety, Medium Project)
• South Carolina Department of Transportation's Berlin G. Myers Parkway (Safety, Large Project)
The SASHTO awards mark the final regional competition of the summer. Now that all regional winners have been announced, the top three scoring winners from each region will advance to the Top 12 round, with those final 12 contenders to be unveiled in early September.
SASHTO screenshot
Those standout projects will then compete for two national honors in the 2026 America's Transportation Awards: The Grand Prize, chosen by an independent panel of transportation industry judges, and the People's Choice Award, decided through online public voting.
AASHTO will reveal both winners at its annual meeting in Louisville, Ky., November 2026, with both award winners each receiving $10,000 to donate to a scholarship fund or charitable cause of their choice.
