San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Top 10 Finalist for America's Transportation Award

Do you ever drive by the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and just take in its beauty? If so, you’re onto something.

Caltrans announced Monday that the bridge has been named a top 10 finalist in a national competition for the best transportation project in the nation.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ (AASHTO) has selected it for its 2014 America’s Transportation Awards competition.

“We in California know that the Bay Bridge is one of the best bridges in the world, both seismically and structurally, as well as stylistically,” said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty.

If you want to help the project win first place in the competition, you can vote online. Votes will be accepted through Oct. 24 here. You can vote up to 10 times.

By winning, the state’s transportation department doesn’t just get bragging rights, but they also get to chose the recipient of a $10,000 donation.

“Should the Bay Bridge be selected, Caltrans would donate to the California Transportation Foundation, which benefits the families of Caltrans workers killed on the job,” Caltrans officials said Monday.

Here’s more on the competition and honor from a Caltrans news release:

A record 73 projects from 36 states and the District of Columbia were entered into the 2014 America’s Transportation Awards competition, sponsored by AASHTO, AAA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Now, in an “American Idol”-like competition but for road projects, the nation will have the opportunity to decide through online voting which of the Top Ten projects deserves the People’s Choice Award.

The People’s Choice and Grand Prize (selected by a panel of experts) award winners will each earn a $10,000 donation from AASHTO to be donated by the winning state’s department of transportation to a charity of their choice. Should the Bay Bridge be selected, Caltrans would donate to the California Transportation Foundation, which benefits the families of Caltrans workers killed on the job. Both final awards will be presented on November 23 at the AASHTO Annual meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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The Bay Bridge was also awarded the “Award of Excellence” in the Infrastructure category during the Structural Engineers Association of California’s 2014 Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards.This specific award publicly acknowledges outstanding achievement in the structural engineering analysis, design and construction of an infrastructure project.

AASHTO is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association representing highway and transportation departments in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. AASHTO serves as a liaison between state departments of transportation and the federal government. As the voice of transportation, AASHTO works to educate the public and key decision makers about the critical role that transportation plays in securing a good quality of life and sound economy for our nation. It represents all five transportation modes: air, highways, public transportation, rail and water.

PHOTO: Courtesy of Caltrans.