Partnering Excellence Award Winners Recognized at Roads & Streets

PHOENIX — The Arizona Department of Transportation implemented a formal partnering program with its contractors more than 20 years ago. The program facilitates productive relationships, establishes a process for amicable resolution of conflicts, and has led to more projects to being completed on time and on budget. The ADOT Partnering Excellence Awards Committee recognized project teams consisting of the Arizona Department of Transportation, contractors and other organizations at the 62nd Arizona Conference on Roads & Streets in Tucson this year.

The winners of the 2012 Partnering Excellence awards demonstrated the ability to come together and develop a charter and goals for the project. Teams were also judged on their ability to develop relationships and successfully resolve issues. The following project teams won awards in the following categories:

Roadway Project $5 million to $25 million:

• Ames Construction, Inc., ADOT and U.S. Forest Service for the widening of State Route 260 in the Little Green Valley area east of Payson

Roadway Project over $25 million:

• FNF Construction, Inc. and ADOT for construction of two new southbound lanes along a seven-mile segment of US 93 between Deluge Wash and Wagon Bow Ranch
• Kiewit/Sundt Joint Venture and ADOT for addition of HOV lanes along a 30-mile stretch of Loop 101 between Interstate 10 and State Route 51

Other Transportation Infrastructure under $5 million:

• Royal-Banicki Joint Venture, Kimley-Horn and Associates, City of Flagstaff and Flagstaff Pulliam Airport for pavement rehabilitation of airport taxiways, and major upgrades to airfield lighting and signage at Flagstaff Pulliam Airport
• Haydon Building Corp., Maricopa County Department of Transportation and T.Y. Lin for rehabilitation of the historic Old US 80 Gila River Bridge

“Successful project teams depend on good relationships,” said Denis Howe of Entellus Engineering, Chair of the Partnering Award committee. “Partnering, with its emphasis on nurturing relationships and establishing procedures for resolving conflicts, has paid dividends for taxpayers with more projects being completed on-time and on-budget.”

This competition, which originated in 2005, is designed to recognize partnership teams that demonstrate a high degree of achievement through their practice of partnering principles and their application of the partnering processes related to the transportation industry.