An honor that passed us by - and for good reason

Bruce Siceloff on Crosstown Traffic: Well, maybe it wasn't even close. But it's a relief to learn that the U.S. 70 Clayton Bypass did not win a prize as America's most innovative transportation project this year.

Yes, it's pretty. Yes, it provides a quicker path to the beach for U.S. 70 drivers.

But:

The project was delayed for years, and the price tag grew enormously because of DOT environmental dithering.

It makes the weekday drive worse for many I-40 commuters.

Its innovative technology is broken. DOT folks didn't realize this until they read it in The N&O. They're still trying to repair it.

So it would have been embarrassing to win undeserved honors from AAA, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

DOT Secretary Gene Conti lobbied Johnston County residents, construction moguls and even his own 12,000 employees to stuff an online ballot box with enough mouse clicks to earn honors as the "People's Choice" project.

We got out-clicked by fans of a Florida project: "The 95 Express Miami Project is a $63 million High Occupancy/Toll lanes arrangement that encourages carpooling and rewards travelers with lower fares for traveling during off-peak hours."

And a group of judges gave the top prize to the Minnesota DOT for the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis - not the one that collapsed in 2007, but the replacement that was designed and built in 14 months.