RICHMOND, VA The International Partnering Institute (IPI) presents the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and its partners a Ruby-level Partnered Project of the Year Award at a ceremony in San Francisco, California.

The award recognized the project team from the Avens Bridge Route 670 Project in Washington County, Virginia, in VDOT's Bristol District.

A Ruby award is the second-highest honor awarded by IPI.

"The Avens Bridge project is a great example of how effective partnerships play a vital role in success," said VDOT Commissioner Charles Kilpatrick. "Cooperation and consistent communication among key team members and other stakeholders led to a project that finished early and under-budget."

The Partnered Project of the Year Award recognizes project teams who distinguish themselves by implementing IPI's best practices for partnership and by fostering high-trust and collaborative relationships on their projects.

The Avens Bridge Route 670 project saw the completion of a $16 million, 1,005-foot bridge across South Holston Lake in Bristol, Virginia. It replaced a narrow, two-lane truss bridge built in 1949.

The project team, including contractor Orders Construction Company, Inc. and designer AECOM, along with A. Morton Thomas & Associates, Inc., which provided construction engineering and inspection, VDOT and stakeholders such as the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, worked together to overcome obstacles and find new ways to solve problems.

Through consistent cooperation and innovative thinking the team was able to keep the bridge open throughout the project, finish 11 days ahead of schedule and more than $750,000 under budget.

"The project team developed a strong working relationship," said Rob Griffith, VDOT's Bristol District Assistant District Administrator for Construction. "Good communication was essential in achieving the best possible project outcome."

Awards are based on criteria including demonstrated success in the application of IPI's principals of partnering, achievement of project outcomes, inclusion of stakeholders and project participants in the partnering process, innovative approaches to partnering and project implementation and demonstrated commitment to the partnership.