Transportation board meets July 27-28 in north Idaho for district tour
and business meeting

The Idaho Transportation Board will tour several businesses in northern Idaho and recognize Boundary County for its commitment to “Toward Zero Deaths” on Idaho’s roads during its monthly meeting July 27-28 in Coeur d‘Alene. The board also will meet with the mayors of Sandpoint, Kellogg and Bonners Ferry, along with officials from cities and road districts across the area.

Board tour
The board will tour District 1 on July 27. The tour includes visiting the Chilco Mill, Empire Airlines, and Kootenai Technical Education Campus/North Idaho College.

The Chilco Mill, part of Idaho Forest Group, is located in Athol, north of Coeur d’Alene. It produces up to 280 million board feet of lumber per year.

Empire Airlines’ mission is to provide profitable, quality aviation services; provide opportunity for challenging and competitive employment; and be economically, socially, and morally responsible. The company builds and fixes planes, trains and educates flight crews and mechanics, serves major air cargo companies, helps airline startup companies get off the ground, and provides unmanned flight surveillance.

On The Job/Supportive Services Training
During the business meeting at the District 1 office on July 28, the board will be asked to add an On-The-Job-Training/Supportive Services (OJT/SS) project to the Idaho Transportation Investment Program.

The department applied for and was awarded a Federal Highway Administration grant for Ladders of Opportunity Initiative for Heavy Equipment Operator and Commercial Driver’s License training and certification. The main goal of this grant is to provide training to underrepresented groups and after graduation, to help fill employment opportunities with local contractors.

Staff identified the demographic groups that had the highest poverty rates and decided to concentrate recruitment efforts on veterans, Native Americans, Hispanics, black males, Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.

The $198,076 grant will fund a five-week program that includes activities such as marketing, recruitment, classroom training, job fairs and placement activities.

Port of Entry (POE) License Plate Readers
Staff will request approval of a POE License Plate Reader project.

This $1 million project will procure and install license plate readers at the Boise POE and Lewiston POE. These readers will allow expedited truck flow for the commercial vehicles not utilizing Idaho’s Weigh-in-Motion system compatible transponder equipment. The funding is available from the new Freight Program, which was established in the federal Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act.

Great Northern Corridor Coalition
The board will also hear a presentation from the Great Northern Corridor Coalition.

The Coalition focuses on the freight infrastructure from Chicago to the Pacific Northwest. The corridor starts in Chicago and goes through Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, and Idaho before splitting in Washington to reach the Pacific Ocean at ports in both Washington and Oregon. Although the main focus of the corridor is the rail network, other infrastructure such as highways and ports are also crucial components.

Numerous other local delegations, mainly local elected officials, will also address the board about transportation issues in their respective jurisdiction.

Published 07-22-16