1998 Excellence In Highway Design
1968-1998 With the enthusiastic support of Mrs. Lyndon Baines Johnson, Congress passed the Highway Beautification Act in 1965 giving new emphasis to programs of landscaping and scenic enhancement on Federal-aid highways. While two basic goals of the Act were to remove billboards and screen junkyards, the U.S. Department of Transportation recognized it as a call to improve the appearance of the highway environment in general. In 1967, Secretary of Transportation Alan Boyd announced the start of a competition called "The Highway and its Environment."
This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the first awards presented in 1968 to recognize superior efforts in designing our Nation's highways. The purpose was to recognize the efforts and achievements of public agencies and private organizations in protecting, restoring, and enhancing highway beauty. In that competition and its broader successor, "Excellence in Highway Design" (since 1984), the FHWA has received over 2,000 entries. These include outstanding examples of highways, bridges, tunnels, roadside facilities, and other improvements that demonstrate what can be done when designers use their creativity and sensitivity to move traffic in a manner that is aesthetically pleasing as well as safe and efficient.
This brochure illustrates the winning entries in the 1998 Excellence in Highway Design Competition. More than 200 entries were received this year and covered a wide range of highway and highway-related projects. These projects were reviewed and judged by a panel of six outstanding members of the highway community. They brought their diverse expertise and interests to their task and selected truly exemplary projects in each category.
Our congratulations to the winners.
Dwight Horne
Chief, Federal-Aid and Design Division
Nicholas Artimovich
Program Manager
A Note of Appreciation
The FHWA Office of Engineering has been responsible for running the Excellence in Highway Design Biennial Awards programs since its inception, but it could not have been successful without the support from the FHWA Office of Information and Management Services. We thank them, especially Mr. Richard Coleman, for their efforts in producing the entry forms, winning projects brochures, and the massive structures used to display the competition entries during the judging.
Congratulations from the Administrator
Category 1 - The Urban Highway
Category 2 - The Rural Highway
Category 3A - Major Highway Structures - Over $10 Million
Category 3B - Major Highway Structures - Under $10 Million
Category 4 - Environmental Protection and Enhancements
Category 5 - Historic Preservation
Category 6 - Highway Related Projects
Category 7 - Intelligent Transportation Systems
Category 8 - Intermodal Transportation Facilities