Big I Reconstruction Project
New Mexico Department of Transportation

Challenge: Educate the public on the need for a $283 million reconstruction of the state’s busiest transportation interchange – the intersection of Interstate Highway 25 and Interstate Highway 40 – which in 2000 served more than 300,000 vehicles per day.

Approach: CWA Strategic Communications empowered the public to make their own decisions about alternate routes and encouraged travelers to stay out of the interchange during peak commute times. CWA coordinated daily newspaper maps, an interactive website and a “commuter’s club” where participants could get discounts at local merchants. We also offered frequent construction site tours, held regular media briefings and planned and implemented special events to celebrate project “milestones.”

Results: The project was finished one month early and was received very positively by the public throughout the construction process. Accomplishments included:

• 667 presentations to 13,480 participants
• More than 10,000 members of the Commuter’s Club/ACT Now program
• Distribution of 20,605 copies of the Big I information tabloid
• Distribution of 27,757 Big I brochures
• 2,833 Big I hotline calls with response to 255 complaints
• 6.2 million website hits
• $1.17 million in earned print coverage
• $1.36 million in earned television coverage
• Total of $2.53 million in earned media (excluding radio)

Services: Public Outreach, Public Relations, Media Relations, Owned Media, Special Event Planning and Implementation, Public/Private Partnership Development, Print Advertising, Video Production, Creative Services

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