11/23/2014
ITD receives two prestigious awards from national transportation organization
BOISE -- The Idaho Transportation Department showed that it stood among the elite transportation departments in the country for the second year in a row. ITD earned two prestigious awards from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) at the group’s 2014 annual meeting, Nov. 20-24, in Charlotte, N.C.
ITD’s Dennis Jensen was awarded the Alfred E. Johnson award for his work with Idaho’s winter road maintenance system, and members of the department’s Idaho Freight Study Project Management Team received an AASHTO President’s Transportation award for Research. The presentations were made today (Sunday, Nov. 23) at the annual meeting of AASHTO, which is comprised of the nation's 50 state departments of transportation.
“We are pleased to be recognized with these awards, which speak to the dedication and talent of our employees.” said ITD Director Brian Ness.
“Our vision is to be the best transportation department in the country,” he added. “Bringing home awards such as these show we are well on our way to that goal."
Jensen was recognized for his work improving safety for the
traveling public, which led him to develop a unique system that is improving
the efficiency and effectiveness of winter maintenance, not only statewide in
Idaho, but is also being noticed by other transportation organizations. Idaho was the first at establishing a method to measure effectiveness of winter highway efforts.
The Idaho Freight Study Project Management Team developed a freight study using an inclusive process that involved representatives of all freight transportation mode in Idaho. The process established common goals and visions for Idaho’s freight network, evaluated opportunities and strategies to integrate freight movement across all modes, and strengthened partnerships between private and public entities.
Team members are Sonna Lynn Fernandez, Steve Grant, Melissa Kaplan, Robert Linkart, Jo O’Connor, Mark Wasdahl and Mark Bathrick.
Last year, ITD earned more top AASHTO awards than any other state in the 100-year history of the national organization – a total of four.
AASHTO’s annual meeting is one of the industry’s most important gatherings of transportation, government and commercial organizations. The annual meeting offers transportation executives the opportunity to network and share the latest in industry policies and innovations.
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NessAward.jpg (Left to right) AASHTO President Mike Hancock, Kentucky Department of Transportation, ITD Director Brian Ness and AASHTO Executive Director Bud Wright (President’s Award for Idaho Freight Study Team).
JensenAward.jpg (Left to right) (Left to right) AASHTO President Mike Hancock, Kentucky Department of Transportation, ITD’s Dennis Jensen and AASHTO Executive Director Bud Wright (Alfred E. Johnson Award).
