Press Release for Immediate Release
Contact: Meg Lane, Office of Communications
624-3197 or (cell) 692-3092

MaineDOT honored for Memorial Bridge campaign

AUGUSTA, Maine, August 15, 2006 – The American Association of State Highways and Transportation Officials (ASHTO) has awarded The Maine Department of Transportation its National Transportation Public Affairs Skills Award for “overall excellence in a public affairs campaign.” The EXCEL Award was presented to MaineDOT’s Communications Office for its public education campaign regarding the three-month closure of the Augusta Memorial Bridge.

According to MaineDOT Commissioner David Cole, “We are learning that larger, more complex infrastructure projects can be done faster, better and certainly more costeffectively if we use full, rather than partial, closures. However full closures can only be successful if the public is informed. We enjoyed tremendous cooperation from everyone on the full closure of the Augusta Memorial Bridge. Being singled out for this national recognition is icing on the cake.”

Judges for the competition noted, “This was an outstanding program for a reasonable
budget with a good mix of strategic thinking, community relations and creative
development.” The campaign included radio spots, print ads, e-mail alerts and ongoing
interaction with community leaders, major employers, downtown businesses,
and the media.

Barton & Gingold of Portland assisted with community relations and worked closely with the Department to ensure key constituencies were kept informed and had opportunities for input.

MaineDOT has been asked to provide national and state transportation leaders with an overview of its campaign as part of a “Best Practices” communications session at the national ASHTO Annual Meeting in October.