Untitled Document

AASHTO honors two ITD photographers in annual judging

An ITD photograph of scooter riders wearing protective helmets and inspection of a cement pour on Interstate 84 in Boise received honors from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in its annual Faces of Transportation competition.

Mel Coulter's photo of a motor scooter and side car received one of three first-place awards in the category "Improving Quality of Life. The photo shows the importance of safety equipment for scooter riders and passengers. Mark Hall earned third place in the "On the Job" category for his photogrph of ITD inspector Todd Daylong overseeing part of the I-84 reconstruction and expansion.

Three other ITD photos were recognized among the "Faces of Transportation" contest:

Bruce King (District 6), inspection of a bridge on the Archer Highway near Ririe, and a photo of Lynn Horrocks behind the wheel of a snowplow truck simulator; and Hall's photograph of a worker in ITD's chemistry, where "science meets the road."

Julie Duewel of the Nevada Department of Transportation received the grand prize for her photograph of the department's "maintenance crew 235," depicting the employees' efforts to maintain the network of highways that link Nevada's 110,000 square miles.

Nearly 100 photos from 24 state departments of transportation were entered into the AASHTO competition in three categories: On the Job; In the Community; and Improving Quality of Life. The competition was designed to "bring a face to the important role that transportation plays in our communities," according to AASHTO Executive Director John Horsley.

"These photos truly depict the positive effects of transportation on individuals and their communities," Horsley said. "Thousands of men and women are working every day to make America's transportation system work better, and we wanted this competition to honor them. Too often, what they do is taken for granted; these photos show the real faces of transportation today."

David Gonzalez of the Minnesota Department of Transportation, won first place in two categories and will receive $250 for each: his winning On the Job photo showed night paving operations on Highway 51 in Arden Hills, MN; his photo depicting the I-35W Bridge with LED lighting won the In the Community category.

Award-winning art photographers Allen and Leah Appel judged this year's competition. View the winning photos and all of the other submissions in a photo gallery on AASHTO's Facebook page: http://tinyurl.com/faces-of-transportation.”