IBTTA Toll Excellence Awards, new officers announced

More than 700 global transportation leaders gathered for the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association's (IBTTA) 84th Annual Meeting and Exhibition in Denver, Colorado, this week. The meeting was hosted by IBTTA member, E-470 Public Highway Authority. The E-470, a highway that runs along the eastern perimeter of the Denver metropolitan area, is a non-stop, all-electronic toll road.

The 2016 IBTTA Toll Excellence Awards were presented during the conference, where one recipient, the North Carolina Turnpike Authority, was honoured with the prestigious President’s Award for Excellence

Additional recipients included Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise for administration and finance, while the North Carolina Turnpike Authority, Raleigh, received the award for customer service and marketing. The Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agencies in Orange County, California was honoured for social responsibility and Harris County Toll Road Authority; Houston, Texas received the award for technology. Also honoured were the Central Florida Expressway Authority, Orlando for toll operations, engineering and maintenance and CDM Smith of Boston for private sector innovation.

"These agencies represent the leading edge of excellence, innovation and achievement in the tolling industry," said Patrick D. Jones, Executive Director and CEO, IBTTA, Washington, D.C. "As toll facilities around the world continue to expand and grow ever more sophisticated, we expect this awards program to reveal even more innovation in the future."

IBTTA also released its new report, Toll Technology Transforms Mobility for Customers during the meeting. The data shows a decrease in the use of cash and an increase in electronic tolling in the past five years.
 
New IBTTA officers were elected by its membership during the conference. They will  begin their terms on 1 January 1 2017 and include: president, Emanuela Stocchi, Director of International Affairs, Associazione Italiana Società Concessionarie Autostrade e Trafori (AISCAT), Rome, Italy; first vice president, Tim Stewart, executive director, E-470 Public Highway Authority, Aurora, Colorado. Christopher Tomlinson, executive director, State Road and Tollway Authority and Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, Atlanta, Georgia, was elected second vice president. Klaus Schierhackl, CEO, ASFINAG, Vienna, Austria becomes international vice president.

"Both the annual meeting and the city of Denver are great examples of the three-part theme I’ve brought to IBTTA during the year I've served as IBTTA president: People, Partnerships and Progress," said Earl J. ‘Buddy’ Croft III, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority, and IBTTA president.  "Each professional development session at the meeting fell under one of the three themes."