Reflections on CTS at 40: Tina Smith

Senator Smith was the recipient of CTS's 2026 Distinguished Public Service Award. Excerpts from her acceptance speech are presented here. Watch this video to view her complete remarks.

I am so grateful for the work you all do to ensure people and goods can get around Minnesota as safely and as efficiently as possible. Your work helps our businesses thrive and allows our communities to grow…It’s a reminder for me that transportation is an engine of opportunity for Minnesota. 

…In the wake of the 35W bridge collapse, I watched the public and private sectors come together to figure out how we could fast track construction and support the community after the bridge had disappeared in the blink of an eye…

That kind of collaboration is at the heart of what the Center for Transportation Studies is all about — bringing together research and education, and then causing everybody to say, “How are we going to do this together?”

I'm deeply aware, as I stand before the Center for Transportation Studies, about the need for additional and ongoing innovation and flexibility. We need to figure out how to build things quicker. We need to figure out how to do that in a way that also allows for robust community input, and ensures we're protecting our air quality and our water quality and the very best land use that we can. 

In Minnesota, we are going to be pushing the edge of innovation, and that is what makes us such an exceptional state. So I accept this award with a lot of humility. To the extent that I've been able to be useful in this work, it is because I have listened and learned from all of you.

June 2026

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