Young drivers, north-central Idaho activities and roads
highlight April board tour

A review of the Alive at 25 youthful-driver program, a look at the activities in the District 2 (north-central Idaho) office, and a tour of area roads and facilities were some highlights of the monthly Idaho Transportation Board tour in late May.

Alive at 25
At its board meeting in Orofino on April 29, the board learned about the Alive at 25 youth highway safety program.

Traffic crashes are the leading cause of teen fatalities, accounting for 44 percent of teen deaths in the U.S. Young drivers are involved in fatal crashes at more than twice the rate of all others.

To address this concern, the Orofino Police Department established an Alive at 25 program. It received a grant from the Office of Highway Safety for training.  The interactive program encourages young drivers to take responsibility for their driving behavior. It encourages drivers to make wise decisions and to consider the impacts that may result from poor decisions.

District 2 report
District 2 Engineer Dave Kuisti provided an annual report on the district’s activities.

Some personnel changes and re-organization occurred, including the consolidation of the contract administration duties under a single resident engineer, and the special crew and traffic services reduced and consolidated into one crew.

One hundred percent of the 2014 projects were designed on time. Eleven of the district’s 13 construction projects met the goal of final construction cost as a percent of contract award. Staff’s winte- storm mobility metric improved considerably. During the 2013-14 winter, the district’s roads were not significantly impeded 42 percent of the time. This past year, that increased to 70 percent of the time. Additionally, the winter road reports were delivered on time 99 percent of the time.

District tour
The board started its tour of the region on April 30 with a visit to the Orofino Airport. The facility has an economic impact of $9.4 million and supports 60 jobs. A new terminal was constructed last year.  The airport has a variety of users, such as private pilots, charter services, flight instructors and students, emergency medical services, and fire fighters.

The tour also included a stop at the Idaho Youth Challenge Academy in Pierce. The program meets the criteria established by the National Guard Bureau and provides an option for troubled youth.  Its core components are academic excellence, health and hygiene, job skills, leadership, life coping skills, physical fitness, responsible citizenship, and community service.

 


Published 05-08-15