Board to tour southwest Idaho projects as prelude to meeting

The Idaho Transportation Board will hit the road for the last time this year to visit construction sites in Ada, Gem and Valley counties and to hold a business meeting at District 3. As part of the Wednesday tour, board members will look at the Idaho 16 extension to U.S. 20/26 funded with GARVEE bonds, and then travel north to the Cascade Airport and to Midas Gold in Lake Fork.

The last scheduled board tour of the year will be on October 23, focusing on Ada, Gem, and Valley Counties. Some of the highlights include visiting the SH-16 extension to US-20/26 project, which is currently under construction in the GARVEE Program; the Cascade Airport, where the runway is being reconstructed; and Midas Gold in Lake Fork.

Midas Gold Inc. is exploring for gold, antimony and other minerals in Valley County. Several gold deposits are located near the historic mining town of Stibnite, between McCall and Yellow Pine. The Midas property holdings consist of approximately 10,698 hectares of unpatented and patented claims.

The October business meeting will be Thursday at the District 3 Office in Boise.

Board agenda items

Alternative project delivery program
An update on the alternative project delivery program is planned during the business meeting. The Idaho 44, Linder-to-Ballantyne project in District 3 is ITD’s first built under the design-build concept. The contractor’s approach was to accelerate construction time, reduce impacts to the public, schedule fewer traffic switches and complete a CRABS (cement recycled asphalt base stabilization) on the existing pavement.

A collaborative approach resulted in a successful project. Some of those steps involved a risk assessment, field investigation and data gathering and defining project requirements.

The next two design-build projects are scheduled in FY15. District 6 is planning commercial weight and safety compliance stations on U.S. 20. The contract is expected to be awarded in April, with construction completed in late 2014. District 3’s Idaho 55, North Fork Payette River Bridge project in McCall should be awarded in May, with completion in spring 2015.

Other activities under way include outreach and training on alternative project delivery methods and developing manuals and guidelines. The procurement documents have been completed for the design-build method.

Fiber management program
Enterprise Technology Services is leading an effort to leverage ITD’s right-of-way and construction projects to reduce communications costs, prepare for future business needs and support economic development through the expansion of broadband in the state.

An overview on the concepts and opportunities associated with the effort will be presented to board members for discussion.

The department has an extensive network throughout the state, not only at Headquarters and the 6 district offices, but also at 91 maintenance sheds, 105 county DMV offices, ports of entry, and 230 intelligent transportation devices like cameras and messaging signs.

ITD has agreements with private and public partners, with varying services, costs and responsibilities.

The vision is to leverage the department’s unique resources and opportunities, provide a means for communication cost containment and meeting future needs, and economic development for remote communities.

One of the projects is in District 6. Along with constructing a new interchange on U.S. 20, there is an opportunity to establish 10 miles of communications infrastructure that can be leveraged for an additional 20 miles.

The public-private partnership supports economic development by expanding broadband availability and increasing business opportunities without maintenance or operations costs to ITD.

Published 10-18-13