Gov. John Hickenlooper on Tuesday awarded the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment with Governor’s Elevation Awards in recognition of customer service and performance improvements achieved by state employees.

The awards were handed out at a luncheon at the Governor’s Residence at the Boettcher Mansion. A panel representing businesses across the state judged entries.

CDOT won the award for “Superior Customer Service” for its Interstate 70 Mountain Express Lane project, which has dramatically cut travel time between the Eisenhower Tunnel and the foothills west of Denver during peak periods.

The health department, honored for “High Impact Performance,” was recognized for instituting a process to improve the exchange of data concerning immunizations between clinics, schools and child care centers and the state.

Judges included Global Harvest Foods operations manager Nick Adinolfe of Akron; Hewlett Packard Enterprise senior director of engineering-mission critical solutions Ethan Gannett of Fort Collins; Morgan Stanley private wealth advisor Carla Scanniello, of Denver; and Prostar Geocorp CEO and Presdent Page Tucker of Grand Junction.

“We in manufacturing work on process improvement as part of our daily work, but I didn’t expect that in government,” Adinolfe said in a statement released by the governor’s office. “I am surprised and impressed at the work going on to improve results.”

The CDOT project put in place a third eastbound lane in the wide shoulder along a 13-mile stretch from Empire to the foothills west of Denver. It’s only used during peak periods, when it helps cut travel time from Eisenhower Tunnel to the top of Floyd Hill in half, CDOT says, shaving about 30 minutes off the drive.

The CDPHE’s initiative made it easier for the clinics, schools and child care centers to interact with the state’s immunization registry. The new process takes just four months to develop an interface, state officials say, cutting the required time by roughly 60 percent and erasing a backlog of 630 providers in the queue. The project met a goal to connect 800 health care clinics four years early, officials said.

– ernest@coloradostatesman.com