The AGC of America announced the seventh annual AGC/Willis Construction Safety Excellence Award winners during AGC's 87th Annual Convention in Palm Springs, Calif. in late March.

Cummings, MDI, Linbeck Win AGC Construction Safety Awards

The Associated General Contractors of America recently announced the winners of the AGC/Willis Construction Safety Excellence Awards, given to contractors who demonstrate a cultural commitment to safety.

Winning Texas firms are:

• Cummings Electrical Inc. of Irving, First Place, Construction Safety Excellence Award, Specialty Contractor 300,001 - 700,000 work hours
• MDI Inc. General Contractors of Irving, Second Place, Construction Safety Excellence Award, Building Division Under 100,000 work hours
• Linbeck Group LP of Houston, Second Place, Construction Safety Excellence Award, Building Division 700,001 - 1 million work hours

The awards program requires finalists to achieve zero work-site fatalities and multi-catastrophic injuries, examines the contractor's safety program and looks for evidence of company management commitment, active employee participation, safety training, work- site hazard identification and control and safety program innovation. In addition, finalists were required to make a presentation of their safety program to an independent panel of judges with more than 150 years of combined safety experience, representing organizations including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, insurance firms, academia and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

AGC also presented a "Grand Award," judged against 16 first place winners, representing the "best of the best" in construction safety excellence, to Sundt Construction Inc. of Tucson, Ariz., for its safety processes, management involvement and company safety culture.

For a complete list of award winners, log on to agc.org

Eisenhower Great-Grandson to Join AASHTO Convoy

In 1919 then-Lieutenant Colonel Dwight David Eisenhower set out on a cross-country military convoy that would someday reshape American life - through the creation of the Interstate Highway System. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of that system, the former president's great-grandson, Merrill Eisenhower Atwater, will retrace the journey - this time along Interstate 80.

The commemorative trip is being planned by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials to underscore the importance of the 47,000-mi. Interstate system - an engineering milestone that many take for granted.

"Trucks use the Interstate to deliver almost everything we use. People use the Interstate to get to work, to vacation, to see America. But they never give it a second thought," said John Horsley, executive director of the AASHTO, which represents the state transportation departments in Washington.

"We want to honor this amazing achievement, but also to make people aware that it's time to think about the future, and what will be needed for the next 50 years. We are delighted to have Merrill Atwater with us as a tribute to his great-grandfather's vision, and as a symbol of a new generation the Interstate system must serve."

The Celebrate the Interstate Convoy will depart from San Francisco on June 16, from the exact point where the 1919 convoy over the famed Lincoln Highway arrived after an arduous 60-day journey. With 19 stops along IH-80 for public events, parades and symposia, the 20-vehicle caravan will arrive at the Zero Milepost in Washington, D.C., on June 29. That date will be the official 50th anniversary of the signing of the Federal-aid Highway Act of 1956 by President Eisenhower.

Atwater will keep a journal of the convoy, to be placed in the Eisenhower Library in Abilene, Kansas, alongside the journal his great-grandfather kept in 1919. He will also file a daily Internet blog of his observations.

Joining Atwater on the caravan will be state transportation officials, governors, historians, Interstate users, freight companies, AAA tow trucks and transportation specialists from around the U.S.

CMAA Opens Call for 2006 Project Achievement Awards

The Construction Management Association of America has announced its annual Call for Project Achievement Award Nominations. Entries must be received by June 30.

The annual Construction Management Project Achievement Awards program recognizes outstanding achievement in the practice of construction management. The awards program is designed to recognize and promote professionalism and excellence in the management of the construction process. Awards will be given to CM practitioners for projects and programs that reflect that mission. To be eligible, projects, programs or program phases must be completed during the period beginning July 1, 2005 and ending June 30, 2006. The competition is open to all CMAA members and non-members. Multiple entries from one firm will be accepted.

All entries must be received by CMAA no later than Friday, June 30. Nominations are to be mailed and must arrive by the deadline to: CMAA Project Achievement Awards Committee, 7918 Jones Branch Drive, Suite 540, McLean, VA 22102.

For more information on the awards and submission requirements, log on to: cmaanet.org/awards.php.