For Long Beach Island locals and visitors, the $312 million federally funded Causeway rehab and expansion project that prompted lane closures, snarling traffic even in the off season, seems both long ago and just yesterday. At the federal level, the project is more recent, gaining significant recognition as a portion of the recently named a finalist for the 2020 America’s Transportation Awards competition.

The winning project, known locally as Contract 4, is for the reconstruction of the old Causeway Bridge, turning it from…