Salem, OR. The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Oregon Routing Information Online Project, known as ORION, has been named a finalist for the 2026 National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) State IT Recognition Awards in the category of Digital Experience: Enterprise Solutions. After receiving recognition through Oregon's State CIO awards, the state's Chief Information Officer (CIO), Terrence Woods, submitted ORION for national consideration.

The NASCIO State IT Recognition Awards celebrate outstanding technology initiatives that improve government operations, strengthen public service, and demonstrate excellence in addressing critical business challenges. ORION exemplifies these values by modernizing how Oregon manages over-dimension freight movement, improving safety, efficiency, and customer service for carriers statewide.

The motor carrier industry is evolving quickly, with larger, heavier, and increasingly time-sensitive loads traveling across Oregon. With safety as its top priority, ODOT identified the need for a modern, automated routing system capable of reducing human error, improving statewide coordination, and supporting industry expectations. ORION was developed as the solution, an investment in safety, service, and infrastructure protection.

Since launch, ORION has met or exceeded every major project goal, without any unexpected downtime. Its benefits can be seen in the three key areas of safety, customer satisfaction, and operational efficiency.

"ORION is the kind of modernization that matters because it solves a real operational problem and makes government services safer and easier to use," said State CIO Terrence Woods. "This recognition reflects the work of ODOT's project team and its partners, who replaced aging technology with a service designed around the people who rely on it."

Being named a NASCIO finalist highlights ODOT's commitment to innovative, customer-focused, and safety-driven technology solutions. ORION demonstrates how modern tools can strengthen infrastructure protection, improve business processes, and enhance services for Oregon's motor carrier community and the public.