Anderson's showcase downtown renovation project, completed last year, received hearty accolades Aug. 19 when it won a Project of the Year 2010 award from the Sacramento Chapter of the American Public Works Association.

The association represents 24 counties in northern California stretching from Mono, Tuolumne and San Joaquin counties in the south to Modoc, Siskiyou, Shasta and Trinity counties in the north.

More specifically, Anderson's East Center Street improvements won the top award in the association's Transportation Category and Construction Division for small agencies that spent between $500,000 and $2 million on a single project within the award year, explained Richard T. Liptak, who chaired the association's award program.

A five-minute multi-media presentation on the project was presented by Jeff Kiser, Anderson's public works director. Russell Wenham of Omni-Means, Ltd., the project's designer, joined Kiser in accepting the plaque.

The project's contractor was Site Works Solutions Inc., Kiser said.

An extension of the downtown demonstration blocks will start later this month along Freeman Street.