REHOBOTH BEACH, DE – The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) received three awards at the National Transportation Public Affairs Workshop (NTPAW) last week. The annual awards competition is open to transportation agencies from all 50 states. Only one award is given in each category. NTPAW is an annual meeting of a Public Affairs Subcommittee of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Judges are public relations professionals outside of state department of transportation agencies.

VDOT’s Biennial Report for 2002-2004 won for writing in the annual report category. One judge wrote, "I have never enjoyed reading an annual report (of any kind) until now. Great work"

The agency was also recognized in the video production category for its Goshen Bridge documentary, "Spanning the Centuries: Restoring a Boomtown Bridge." The documentary was shown on local PBS stations in Virginia. All three judges scored the documentary a perfect 10 for each of the judging criteria. One judge commented: "Awesome video and natural sound…It's a stunning and compelling piece."

VDOT also won “Best News Release” for its release on a Virginia Transportation Research Council study that shows that animals do use wildlife underpasses to get from one side of the road to the other. The story was featured in The Washington Post and on “Good Morning America.” Judges said, "Unusual and effective. . . Critter cams feature, a huge plus…excellent proactive story… seeing all those critters going through vividly got the message across."

Page last modified: Sept. 16, 2005