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NPHQ > Awards & Success
Stories > 2006 Make a Difference Award Winners > Michigan
Michigan Highway Team Wins National Quality Award
Line Drive Home Campaign Helps Avert Traffic Congestion
New Orleans, LA/November 14, 2006 – The National Partnership for Highway Quality (NPHQ) has awarded one of its National 2006 “Making a Difference” awards to Michigan highway teams whose quality innovations promote roads that are completed more quickly, ride better, last longer, reduce congestion, and improve safety. Entries are judged by a panel of transportation industry leaders who serve on the NPHQ Steering Committee.
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) won the Silver Award in NPHQ’s Public Communications category for its “Line Drive Home” campaign.
A summer public information campaign was created to offer motorists alternative routes to avoid construction delays on 31 miles of I-75 and U.S. 23 in the vicinity of Flint during the 2005 construction season. Many of the motorists during the summer months travel to popular vacation destinations located in the northern lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan. The campaign ran from Memorial to Labor Day.
Using a baseball theme, the campaign capitalized on the excitement of a Major League baseball game held in Detroit and used the Detroit Tiger Radio Network and its 30 affiliate stations to get the message out about alternate routes. The radio stations provide a broad range of coverage that extends, not only statewide, but also beyond the State’s borders into northern Ohio and southwestern Ontario.
In addition, a dedicated web site was developed to provide motorists updated information on construction projects and alternate routes based on seven variations of points of origin and destination. The message to visit the web page clearly reached the target audience, since nearly 20% of all visitors to MDOT’s home page linked to the “Line Drive Home” page.
In addition, 50,000 “Line Drive Home” brochures were distributed at State parks, marinas recreation areas and welcome centers around the State.
Traffic count data showed a significant decrease on I-75 and a diversion of traffic onto the alternate routes. Traffic in the vicinity of the construction zones decreased by up to 20% , while one of the primary alternate routes increased by as much as 52%. Clearly, the public information campaign had met its goal.
“Public Communications is a new category that was added to our Making a Difference awards because good communication contributes to the quality of the driving experience,” said NPHQ’s Executive Director Bob Templeton. “Motorists appreciate having information because it empowers them to make travel decisions appropriate to their situation.”
About NPHQ
The Making a Difference Award program is sponsored by the National Partnership for Highway Quality, which combines public and private highway expertise to deliver quality highways for the safety and mobility of the traveling public. NPHQ members include:
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