Caltrans District 7, with its I-405 carpool lane project partner, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), received a California Transportation Federation “Tranny” award for “Public Outreach Program of the Year.”

The $1 billion project is constructing a 10-mile carpool lane on northbound I-405 from I-10 to US 101. Funding includes $189 million from ARRA.

The outreach effort was related to the 53-hour closure of a section of I-405 in West Los Angeles over the weekend of July 17, 2011, otherwise known as “Carmaggedon.”

The awards were presented at a luncheon in Sacramento in May of this year.

District 7 PIO Judy Gish also won the “Communicator of the Year” award for the outreach from the National Association of Government Communicators.