Link to Award Nomination Form

For cities or counties with a population of 50,000 or less.

For project nominations, include detailed information on the project results, any unique aspects of the project, budget information and funding sources, grants, partnerships, schedule data, and high-resolution photos. Attachments such as photos, charts, graphics, are strongly encouraged.

This award is in line with the equivalent National APWA Project of the Year for Small Cities/Rural Communities award. This award is intended to recognize the managing agency, consultant, architect, engineer, and contractor who, working together, completed the nominated public works projects.

The Project of the Year Award categories having an equivalent National Award include:

  • Structures – to include public structure preservation/ rehabilitation, municipal buildings, bridges, facilities, parks, etc.
  • Transportation– to include roads, bridges, mass transits, etc.
  • Environmental– to include treatment and recycling facilities, landfills reclamation projects, water, sanitary and storm sewer, etc.
  • Historical Restoration/Preservation – to include historical restoration, preservation, and adaptive reuse of existing buildings, structures, and facilities that are 75 years or older to qualify as historical.
  • Disaster or Emergency Construction / Repair – to include the techniques and timing for safety, community relations, environmental protection, adverse conditions, and additional considerations.

To be eligible for nomination, a project must have been “substantially completed” and available for public and/or agency use after March 12, 2023 and before the nomination deadline of September 13, 2024.  If a project has multiple phases or segments, then “substantially completed” will mean the point when the final phase or segment is 90% completed and available for public and/or agency use.  A project may only be nominated once for recognition as “Project of the Year” under any category.

Criteria to be used in the selection process include:

  1. Development of the project to meet a perceived need of the community.
  2. Use of alternative materials, practices or funding that demonstrates a commitment to sustainability and/or use of sustainable infrastructure rating system or the equivalent.
  3. Unique or unusual accomplishments under adverse conditions that dictated the defined action.
  4. Economic challenges that the community faced, and the rationale of the option chosen.
  5. Creative use of municipal resources, equipment, labor, or funds that produced measurable benefits to the community.
  6. Construction processes that minimize the impact to the community and its residents during construction.
  7. Demonstrate awareness of opportunities for environmental preservation during the project and how they were incorporated in the project design and construction.
  8. Additional conditions deemed of importance to the public works agency, such as exceptional efforts to maintain quality control and, if value engineering is used, construction innovations as evidenced by time and/or money‐saving techniques developed and/or successfully utilized.

Award winners will be forwarded on to APWA National for National Award consideration.  Only one award will be transmitted on behalf of the State Chapter, should more than one submittal be submitted for each of these categories.

For submittal to APWA National, please follow the APWA National categories, divisions, and award guidelines. See APWA Awards for additional information on submittal to National.

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