Board members consider report on research projects, plans

ITD plans to launch a study of multi-modal freight movement on the U.S. 95 corridor in Idaho as part of its strategic plan commitment to help the state’s economy grow. Other research projects planned for the coming year include a study of vehicle crashes, an evaluation of fiber-reinforced asphalt and an evaluation of traffic signal detection system performances.

Those projects were discussed as part of the annual report on ITD’s research program to members of the Idaho Transportation Board (Wednesday (Nov. 20) in Boise.

Federal regulations require that 2 percent of funding for roads and bridges must be used for planning and research, with some state match required. The budget for FY14 is $1.4 million, with 12 percent of the planned costs to come from state sources.

One of the research projects conducted in FY13 was to provide assistance with leadership development, including training, leadership assessments, mentoring efforts and communication strategies. Project goals for the four-year effort are to strengthen leadership capabilities throughout the organization and to develop a more constructive organizational culture.

Some of the other projects study the use of salt brine, evaluation of the safety benefits of “Idashield” signs at railroad crossings, a study of low-cost methods to improve passing lane safety and developing a method to prioritize locations for wildlife and vehicle mitigation.

National safety issues update
ITD is involved in a number of national transportation issues, including the Strategic Highway Research Program’s Naturalistic Driving Study. Because drivers cause or contribute to more than 90 percent of vehicle crashes, the study sought to improve traffic safety by obtaining objective information on driver behavior and driver interaction with the vehicle and roadway.

As part of the national program, volunteers allow cameras to be placed in their vehicle to observe their driving practices. That will provide volumes of data collected at highway speeds about driver behavior, including what drivers were doing just before a crash and actions taken to avoid collisions. The drivers represent all age and gender groups, plus all light vehicle types (passenger cars, minivans, sports utility vehicles and pickup trucks).

Plans are to finish data collection by the end of November, complete data files by March 2014, and complete all data file enhancements by December 2014.

Speed minute entries
According to ITD policy, staff members are to inform the board of approved traffic minute entries. Of the 53 entries submitted in November, all but three were processed in District 4.

The district is making a concerted effort to review its existing speed minute entries. Some of them were not consistent with existing signs. Some of the discrepancies are more than 10 years old and may result in enforcement challenges if they are not updated.

Although the speed limit did not change on a number of the minute entries, it was important to reaffirm that the current speed limit is valid.

For a number of years, cities were authorized to establish the speed limit on state highways within their jurisdiction. New legislation gives ITD authority to set speed limits on state highways within city limits. Since that change, some of the districts have made a concerted effort to review those city-established limits.

It is important to either reaffirm that they are legitimate or to change them based on an engineering study.

Published 11-29-13