The UTA Civil Engineering Department, in conjunction with the UT-Austin Center of Transportation Research, has been awarded a $191,000 TxDOT grant to examine TxDOT's project selection processes to enhance participation of small firms in transportation projects. The project PI, Dr. Sia Ardekani will work with his counterparts at UT-Austin to study measures that could be implemented by TxDOT in its project evaluation and selection criteria in order to improve the success rate of small firms in obtaining transportation contracts as prime contractors.