The Aitkin County Highway Department, Hammerlund Construction Inc., Anderson Brothers Construction Co., and the engineering and architectural firm of Widseth Smith Nolting received a 2005 Merit Award by the Minnesota Asphalt Pavement Association, the Minnesota Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists, and the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The award-winning project was funded by Minnesota State Aid and was recognized as 2005's outstanding urban state aid project.

The project team was honored for the reconstruction of Aitkin’s Minnesota Avenue (CSAH 1) between the junctions of 1st Street NW and the Mississippi River bridge. The project stood out for its design and coordination. It involved utility replacement, installation of a stormwater collection system, and street reconstruction. In addition, function and aesthetics are combined in the design of colored sidewalks, trees, benches, and additional street lighting to complement the historically influenced streetscape. The project has helped bring renewed life to this area of downtown Aitkin.

WSN is a multi-disciplined firm of over 140 employees providing engineering, architectural, land surveying, and environmental services. Its offices are located in Alexandria, Baxter/Brainerd, Bemidji, and Crookston, Minnesota; and Grand Forks, North Dakota.