Caltrans Director Cindy McKim recently joined construction industry professionals for the 2011 Caltrans �Excellence in Partnering� awards, which recognizes contractors who put into action what they learned from the Caltrans� Partnering Program to deliver successful highway projects throughout California.

Caltrans provides free training for the construction industry, city and county transportation agencies, consultants, and small businesses who work on Caltrans projects. The training includes practical tools and tips, such as problem solving and dispute resolution. Those who effectively used tools to deliver transportation projects were recognized, according to the department.

The gold award winners are:

• O.C. Jones and Co. and C. C. Myers Inc. for the Interstate 205 Widening Project in San Joaquin County. Caltrans says this $92.1-million project widened the roadway from four to six lanes while installing new sound walls, drainage and “weigh in motion” systems.
• Flatiron Construction for the State Highway 238 Widening & Rehabilitation Project in Alameda County. Caltrans says this $103.5 million project widened the roadway from four to six lanes while constructing three new bridges and 12 retaining walls.
• Granite Construction Co. for the State Highway 40 Pavement Rehab Project in San Bernadino County. Caltrans reports that this $45 million project rehabilitated 30 lane miles of roadway, 36 bridge approaches and placed 22,000 tons of shoulder backing material.
• And the Las Vegas Paving Corp. for the Interstate 15 Mountain Pass Project in San Bernadino County. Caltrans says this $64.9 million project rehabilitated a truck descending lane and roadway with on-site materials.

Silver award winners are:

• Granite Construction Co. for the State Highway 76 Improvement project in San Diego County. The department says this $22.3 million project widened and realigned 1.3 miles of roadway over an environmentally sensitive area.
• O. C. Jones and Sons, Inc. for the Interstate 10 High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) project in Solano County. This $28 million project constructed 8.7 miles of new HOV lanes, installed a new concrete median barrier and rehabilitated the existing roadway.
• Granite Construction Co. for the Interstate 80 Rainbow Concrete Pavement Rehabilitation Project. Caltrans says this $25.5 million contract rehabilitated concrete on 9.6 lane miles I-80 on the western approach to the Donner Summit.
• And the Griffith Co. for the Interstate 10 High Occupancy Vehicle project in Los Angeles County. This $16.2 million project replaced pavement with rapid strength concrete while constructing new approach slabs and drainage over forty weekends.

And the bronze award winner is:

• Teichert Construction for the State Highway 4 Construct Highway and Bridges Project in Calaveras County. This $25.6 project constructed four new concrete bridges and 2.4 miles of roadway.