The North Carolina Department of Transportation’s (NCDOT) Complete 540, phase 1 project was named a top 12 finalist in the 2025 America’s Transportation Awards competition, sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).
In addition, projects from the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT), South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT), Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), and West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) won regional awards in the competition.
“The America’s Transportation Awards shine a spotlight on the vital projects state DOTs deliver for their communities to enhance safety, expand mobility for users, deliver a better quality of life for residents and visitors, and keep our economy moving,” said AASHTO Executive Director Jim Tymon. “The America’s Transportation Awards competition continues to show us that state DOTs are able to transform communities in a variety of ways. And as Congress works toward a new federal surface transportation bill, lawmakers need to only look at the tangible benefits that states deliver to their customers through examples like these winners to see why robust federal funding to states is so important.”
This year’s competition received 113 nominations from 35 state departments of transportation nationwide. As a top scorer in the Southern Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials region, NCDOT’s Complete 540, phase 1 project advanced to the next round of the competition.
The top 12 now compete for two final awards. The Grand Prize will be chosen by an independent panel of judges, while the People’s Choice Award will be decided through online voting, weighted by state population. The public can vote once per day until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on November 17, 2025, at americastransportationawards.org.
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AASHTO will reveal winners of the Grand Prize and People’s Choice awards at its annual meeting in November 2025. Each winner will receive a $10,000 cash award for a charity or transportation-related scholarship of their choice.
Rapid population and economic growth in the Raleigh-Durham region of North Carolina placed increasing strain on existing roadways, prompting the North Carolina Turnpike Authority (NCTA), a division of NCDOT, to complete the area’s outer highway loop.
The first of two phases for the Complete 540 project extended Toll N.C. 540 (also known as the Triangle Expressway) approximately 18 miles. Construction included 52 bridges, 33 culverts, and seven interchanges, along with a diverging diamond interchange and turbine-style interchange.
NCTA divided the $1.3 billion project into three separate design-build contracts. The same joint venture team — with Flatiron Construction (now FlatironDragados) and Branch Civil serving as general contractors — completed segments A and B. The joint venture team for segment C included Lane Construction, Blythe Construction, and WSP.
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“This project will enhance local mobility by easing traffic congestion, improving connectivity to other major throughfares and surrounding towns, and providing safer conditions for both commuters and maintenance crews,” said Ronyell Thigpen, Vice President of Civil Engineering at WSP. “NCTA’s vision for the N.C. 540 loop has shaped communities around the Raleigh Triangle area. We were able to collaborate with NCTA’s leadership to develop a signature five-point turbine interchange design that combines three major highways.”
The project also mitigated environmental impacts through $30 million in investments, including wetland and stream restoration and contributions to Wake County’s open space program. The corridor was carefully designed to avoid impacts to the Swift Creek watershed critical area, Clemmons Educational State Forest, and historic resources.
Digital synchronization tools across the three design-build contracts enabled all 18 miles to open simultaneously.
“We are thrilled to offer this new transportation option to the community,” said J.J. Eden, NCTA’s Executive Director. “The extension of the Triangle Expressway will provide a more efficient and convenient option to navigate the Raleigh region, supporting planned economic growth and improving the quality of life for residents.”
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In 2024, MDOT updated its 12-year-old Model Complete Streets Initiative to establish more consistent policy directives and to include other agencies across state, county, and municipal levels of government. Expanding the approach beyond engineering to encompass education and enforcement allowed for systemic change and cultural shifts that accelerate progress on complete streets implementation. In addition, the state partnered with Smart Growth America and local communities to construct quick-build demonstration projects on state roads to test its revamped policy while also gathering community and local government input.
The updated, $500,000 initiative aims to ensure accessible, equitable, and safe options for all users across the state’s transportation network. To support that goal, the overhaul incorporated the streamlining of supporting programs focused on bicyclists, pedestrians, transit riders, and micromobility. The new policy applies to all phases of development for capital improvement projects within MDOT right-of-way, including construction or reconstruction of roadways, intersections, or structures, as well as resurfacing projects.
This $525 million, 9-mile project improved safety, reduced travel time, and added capacity to a key evacuation route for Virginia’s Tidewater region. Using design-build delivery, the project added a high-occupancy toll lane and two general-purpose lanes in each direction of the interstate. Most of the widening took place within the existing median, minimizing impacts to interchanges and surrounding right-of-way.
The new High-Rise Bridge now carries westbound I-64 traffic over the Elizabeth River, replacing the previous bascule drawbridge and allowing for uninterrupted travel. In addition to traffic improvements, the project boosted quality of life and fostered community development in the south Hampton Roads area by enhancing pedestrian and bicycle access, as well as maritime travel with a 100-foot increase in elevation on the High-Rise Bridge.
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On September 20, 2023, a freight train derailed in Yemassee, South Carolina, severely damaging a 1937-era bridge built over three CSX railroad tracks. SCDOT immediately assessed the damage, closed the bridge to traffic, and determined the structure needed replacing. While the railroad quickly performed repairs to make the structure safe for train passage, SCDOT ensured the historic importance of the site was preserved by conducting an archaeological excavation before building a new bridge.
The $16 million project replaced a 123-foot-long structure with a new 246-foot structure, built within a year of its original closure — despite challenges like Hurricane Debby and complex demolition work over the active railroad. The entire project finished ahead of schedule to reopen the crucial hurricane evacuation route and local road.
Hurricane Helene’s devastating wind and rain on September 27, 2024, resulted in a massive number of downed trees that disrupted transportation across the state. With many of the trees entangled in power lines, SCDOT recognized an immediate need to align with electric utility providers to ensure quick recovery of both the transit system and the power grid. SCDOT crews worked alongside the power companies to remove trees and accelerate the restoration of clear travel routes and electricity for homes and businesses, marking the beginning of the state’s recovery.
This $72.5 million project widened the interstate to six lanes from Harrison County, West Virginia, almost to the Pennsylvania state line. The work included replacing twin northbound and southbound South Fairmont West Virginia Arch bridges across the Tygart River — each carrying two lanes of traffic — with one new, six-lane span. Construction strategies for the bridge replacement minimized traffic impacts on the busy interstate section. Ultimately, the expanded river crossing increased safety for travelers while allowing the community room to grow.
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Hal Greer Boulevard serves as a main thoroughfare into and out of Huntington, West Virginia, but experienced a high number of crashes, including pedestrian- and cyclist-involved incidents. This $13.5 million corridor redesign included realigned intersections, wider sidewalks, new bicycle lanes, new lighting, reconfigured traffic lights, and additional greenspace to make the area safer and more user-friendly for drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists.
