Uniontown, PA – Earlier this week, a team of students from Norwin School District in Westmoreland County presented their solution to the truck parking shortage to a panel of judges including Acting Secretary of Transportation Mike Carroll, additional PennDOT leadership and industry representatives as part of PennDOT's sixth Innovations Challenge. The winner of the Innovations Challenge will be announced in May.
Photos from the presentation are attached.
Mentored by Thomas Harskowitch, team members include Nicholas Cormas, Gabriel Conboy, and Caden Hoffman. The Norwin team was recently selected to represent District 12 in the challenge following presentations locally.
This year, teams were tasked with addressing a shortage of commercial truck parking along major interstate corridors in Pennsylvania caused by Federal hours-of-service regulations and local ordinances restricting truck parking.
The winning regional team's innovation included a financially smart and environmentally friendly solution poised to be a self-sustaining travel plaza, that addressed not only funding and profitability but also the impact on the community and the environment. The proposal encompassed many aspects that would provide great service, consideration, and accommodation to those visiting their Surplus Plaza.
The PennDOT Innovations Challenge, created in 2017, invites high school students from around the Commonwealth to develop solutions to real-world transportation challenges. The Innovations Challenge is designed to help students explore actual transportation issues and explore the possibility of working for the department following graduation.
Regional Innovations Challenge winners across the state were invited to present their solutions to the PennDOT Acting Secretary and a panel of judges in Harrisburg to determine a statewide winner for 2023. For this year's challenge, the Associated Pennsylvania Constructors (APC) and the American Council of Engineering Companies of PA (ACEC/PA) are providing a combined total award of $4,000 to the statewide winning team.
For complete Innovations Challenge details, visit www.penndot.gov/innovation and click on Innovations Challenge.
Subscribe to statewide PennDOT news and traffic alerts or choose a region to subscribe to. Information about the state's infrastructure and results the department is delivering for Pennsylvanians can be found at www.penndot.pa.gov/results. Find PennDOT's planned and active construction projects at www.projects.penndot.gov.
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Contacts: Toni Hartley, 724-425-3018 or tohartley@pa.gov
Melissa Maczko, 724-439-7135 or mmaczko@pa.gov
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