SALEM, ORE. — The International Road Federation recognized the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), Oregon Bridge Delivery Partners and Delcan Corp. with its prestigious 2011 Global Road Achievement Award. ODOT and its partners received the honor because of their innovative approach to quality management on the OTIA III State Bridge Delivery Program, a $1.3 billion program to repair and replace hundreds of aging bridges across the state.

The bridge program is Oregon’s largest infrastructure investment since the building of the state’s interstate system in the 1950s and ‘60s; its size and scope required ODOT to find a new way of doing business. At the direction of the Oregon Legislature, ODOT outsourced the program management, hiring OBDP, a joint venture of HDR Engineering and Flour Enterprises. ODOT contracted with Delcan to provide independent third-party oversight that built a strong foundation to support cost-effective and efficient delivery of the program.

“As an agency, we’re committed to delivering the very best projects for Oregon taxpayers,” said ODOT Director Matt Garrett. “The IRF’s acknowledgement of the bridge program’s team is a testament to that discipline and professionalism.”

The Global Road Achievement Award is highly competitive, with hundreds of applications submitted to the IRF from numerous countries worldwide. The 2011 awards honor nine projects from eight countries, with ODOT’s bridge program winning in the quality management category.

“Too often, motorists don’t recognize the efforts that are made to intelligently spend tax dollars to maintain a state’s assets, while minimizing disruptions to traffic,” said Michael Dreznes, IRF executive vice president. “And when that very, very challenging objective is met, the people or organizations involved in accomplishing that feat need to be recognized and applauded. The IRF salutes what ODOT has done on this program.”

According to the International Road Federation website, “The International Road Federation's Global Road Achievement Awards program is a competition to honor and recognize road-industry projects that demonstrate excellence and innovation in road development worldwide.” Award recipients were judged by panels of expert judges drawn from IRF's academic members.