AAA Southern New England officials presented Governor Donald Carcieri and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation with a special award for transportation innovation this morning in Providence.
AAA Southern New England President and CEO Mark Shaw presented “America’s Transportation Award” to DOT Director Michael Lewis and Governor Carcieri in recognition of the memorable August 2006 double-barge transport of the new Providence River Bridge up Narragansett Bay. The award, which earned RIDOT special recognition for engineering innovation, is sponsored by AAA, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and AASHTO, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and highlights innovative transportation projects at the state level.
Governor Carcieri, CEO Shaw, Director Lewis, Greater Providence Chamber President Laurie White, and AASHTO Media Relations Manager Tony Dorsey all offered brief remarks and congratulations to RIDOT in honor of the award, which recognizes projects that have a positive impact on people’s lives. RIDOT’s win now places the agency in competition for a national transportation innovation award.
AAA Southern New England is a not-for-profit auto club with 34 offices in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, providing more than 2 million local AAA members with travel, insurance, finance, and auto-related services.
(See a video of the presentation at http://www.dot.ri.gov/news/video/AmTrAw.mpg)
Contact: Lloyd Albert, AAA, 401-868-2000, x. 2130