Byway leads voting for transportation award

SANDPOINT — With just over a week to go, the Sand Creek Byway has a slim lead on the rest of field for the America’s Transportation Award.

A contest put on by the American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the people’s choice award comes with a $10,000 grand prize.

If the project wins, the proceeds will be donated to North Idaho Bikeways, a nonprofit that links the Greater Sandpoint area with a network of bicycle and pedestrian trails.

The project has 24,600 votes compared to 22,085 votes for the Safe and Sound Bridge Improvement Project in Missouri. In third is the seismic retrofit of the Dumbarton Toll Bridge in California, which has 18,981 votes.

Voting is open through Oct. 2. People can cast up to 10 votes a day at www.americastransportationawards.org.