The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Secretary Leslie S. Richards recently recognized 30 PennDOT employees for their outstanding performance with the Star of Excellence Award, PennDOT’s highest recognition.

An employee from Dunmore, employed at  PennDOT’s District 4, which represents Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties, was among the honorees.

Richard Summa of Dunmore is a bridge design squad leader in PennDOT District 4 who has developed techniques and processes that are used to prepare large scale interstate rehabilitation projects.  By preparing the necessary plans and specifications in-house, he has been able to save the department thousands of dollars each year.

Recently, Summa oversaw the design of an entire multiple interstate bridge preservation project in less than one year.  To have a consultant design this project would have cost the department $850,000, yet he was able to complete this with his design squad.

Summa works closely with the district’s Bridge Maintenance Coordinator to allow counties to reach bridge cleaning goals at an affordable cost. He was honored at an awards luncheon at the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg.

“The Star of Excellence award illustrates that these employees take to heart our mission of providing the most effective and efficient transportation services for the roughly 12 million people of Pennsylvania,” Richards said. “They demonstrate a strong culture of service and caring that makes a big difference for the people of Pennsylvania. “Rich has made a tremendous impact through his successes in ensuring the safety of our work crews and saving money on various projects,” said District Executive George Roberts.

The Star of Excellence Awards are presented annually to employees who represent the department’s values of service, performance and integrity. The recipients represent a variety of organizational positions, spanning from highway maintenance and driver and vehicle services workers, to traffic control specialists, communications staff and design and engineering specialists.