The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) has won the first place Grand Conceptor Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Massachusetts region award for its Iway project. Winning this award allows the Department to compete for the ACEC National Engineering Excellence Award. This winner will be announced on Tuesday, April 27 in Washington, DC.
“Winning the regional ACEC award salutes the many men and women who have worked long and hard on this project,” said RIDOT’s Director Michael P. Lewis. “The recognition from our engineering peers is truly an honor.”
RIDOT will now compete along with 23 other entries as a national award finalist. The finalist candidates were selected from a group of 167 entries. Each one of these projects will be recognized at this prestigious event. One project out of the top 24 will be named the best overall engineering achievement in the country.
Known as the “Academy Awards” of the engineering industry the DC event recognizes the accomplishments of the industry’s leaders and is attended by members of Congress, federal agency officials, and other dignitaries.
The Iway has changed the way motorists drive in and around Providence. RIDOT opened the first segment of the Iway, I-95 North to I-195 East, in November 2007. The next segment, I-95 South to I-195 East, opened in December 2008. I-195 West to I-95 South opened in June 2009. The fourth and final major segment of the Iway: I-195 West to I-95 North, which includes an off-ramp to Point Street, opened in October 2009. Additional on- and off-ramps will open in 2010. RIDOT expects demolition of old I-195 to begin later this year with the entire Iway project wrapping up in 2012.
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Contact: Dana Alexander Nolfe 401-222-1362 x4450