Deadlines Approaching for 2 of 3 Programs

Transportation professionals in the public and private sectors work hard every day to make U.S. roads safe and efficient for all drivers. Every two years, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) honors these professionals with prestigious awards through the following programs:

• Environmental Excellence Awards
• Excellence in Right-of-Way Awards
• Transportation Planning Excellence Awards

FHWA accepts nominations for any project, process, group, or individual that has used FHWA funding and are associated with exemplary practices recognized through categories in each award program. The Transportation Planning Excellence Awards (TPEA) nomination period for 2017 has closed, but there is still time to nominate for the Environmental Excellence and Right-of-Way awards.

Nominations for the Environmental Excellence Awards (EEA) will be accepted through September 15. Nominations for the Right-of-Way Awards (ROW) will be accepted through September 30.

Volpe policy and planning experts support FHWA through the entire cycle of each of the three award programs. Volpe’s experts assist in developing the nomination processes, collecting and tracking nominations, fielding questions from nominees, supporting judges’ panels to review the nominations submitted, announcing the awards, and preparing materials to recognize and feature award recipients.

Environmental Excellence

The EEA program recognizes outstanding individuals and projects that incorporate environmental stewardship into the planning and project delivery process. FHWA began the EEA program in 1995.

In recent years, FHWA has expanded EEA to include a focus on the human environment, such as environmental justice and context-sensitive solutions, in addition to natural environment topics like wetlands and ecosystems. The most recent cycle in 2015 recognized 15 exemplary transportation projects with positive impacts on both the human and natural environment.

“FHWA project partners are proud of this recognition,” said Anjuliee Mittelman, an environmental protection specialist at Volpe. “Our criteria for these awards are pretty broad, so we have the best chance of receiving nominations that reflect the breadth of innovation in environmental excellence. We solicit from public, private, academia—anyone can apply who has received FHWA funding.”

Apply for the EEAs by September 15. FHWA plans to announce award recipients in spring 2017.

Excellence in Right-of-Way

Federally-funded road projects often involve acquiring real estate, and this awards program honors projects that excel in streamlining or improving the real property acquisition process. The Excellence in Right-of-Way program recognizes one outstanding transportation project in each of the following categories:

• Innovation
• Leadership
• Stewardship and Oversight
• Streamlining and Integration
• Peer of the Year

“Awarded projects in Right-of-Way are really innovative and come from people who are doing things in the vanguard,” said Carson Poe, an analyst at Volpe. “Recognizing work in the realty field elevates excellent projects and processes, and that attention spreads the word on these innovative efforts to peers in other states so that the field can continue to improve.”

Apply for the Excellence in Right-of-Way awards by September 30. FHWA will award winners in Indianapolis, Indiana, between April 30 and May 4 during the 2017 AASHTO Subcommittee on Right-of-Way and Utilities.

Transportation Planning Excellence

This joint awards program between FHWA and the Federal Transit Administration is co-sponsored by the American Planning Association and recognizes outstanding initiatives across the country to develop, plan, and implement innovative transportation planning practices.

The nomination period for the 2017 TPEAs has closed, and award recipients will be announced in early 2017. The nomination period for the 2019 TPEAs will open in summer 2018.

“Funding is always an important story to tell,” said Jonah Chiarenza, a community planner at Volpe. “With all of these awards, we’re tracking how federal funding has led to real innovations and real improvements in people’s lives. Good work and recognition leads to more good work and more recognition, all of which in turn leads to better transportation systems across the country.”