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Board meeting highlighted by highway safety, innovation
highway beautification and road-user charges

Highway safety accomplishments, district innovations, highway beautification and road-user charges were highlights of the Idaho Transportation Board meeting July 27-28 in Coeur d’Alene.

Delegations
The board heard from 14 local delegations at its business meeting in District 1. The vast majority of mayors, county commissioners, and road supervisors thanked the board for all of the improvements made to the transportation system in northern Idaho, and expressed appreciation to district staff for its assistance and great partnership.

Some specific comments from officials included the need for more funding for small communities, and the need to improve highways 2 and 200. In addition, the board discussed the growth experienced by Selkirks-Ponderay Transit, which is averaging over 2,000 riders a month, concerns with a county steel-truss bridge hit numerous times by over-height vehicles, and a concern that northern Idaho roads are not suitable for 129,000-lb. trucks because of safety, enforcement and maintenance issues.

Road user charges
The board heard an update on states’ efforts to explore alternative funding mechanisms.

Alternatives to the gas tax are being explored as more fuel-efficient vehicles result in less revenue. One approach is to tax a vehicle based on the number of miles driven. A number of states are studying road-user charges, either through a pilot project or by examining the feasibility of an alternative funding source. Idaho is part of a consortium established to build public-sector institutional knowledge and develop expertise for the potential of mileage-based road-usage charging. Idaho is monitoring the activities, but is not actively exploring a road-user charge system.

District 1 Report
District 1 reported on some of its performance metrics:

- Of 23 planned FY16 projects, 19 were delivered on time.
- 83 percent of its pavement is in good condition, exceeding the goal of 82 percent.
- 71 percent of its bridges are in good condition, below the goal of 80 percent.
- The winter mobility goal of 60 percent was exceeded, as the district’s roads were not significantly impeded 87 percent of the time.

The district is partnering with Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization on the U.S. 95, North Corridor Access Improvement project. It is working with the Kootenai Health Medical Center on improvements to the U.S. 95 and Ironwood intersection, with the city of Sandpoint on reconfiguring traffic on U.S. 2, and with the city of Coeur d’Alene on the Coeur d’Alene Lake Drive master plan. Some of the district’s innovations were summarized, such as the de-icing tank coupler, stainless-steel truck plates, and sliding girder installer.

Here are videos of a few other innovations from District 1:

Innovation Fair
Scanner
Gravel Chute

Staff also summarized the Adopt-A-Highway Program. The District’s 230 volunteer organizations logged 3,235 hours picking up 111,825 pounds of litter from Jan. 1 through June 30, 2016. The groups saved ITD $73,500. AAH groups are being encouraged to participate in the Operation Wildflower Program. Wildflowers along highways improve safety because the flowers decrease highway hypnosis and provide a visual stimulation, provide economic benefits because of the beautification of the area, provide agricultural benefits due to pollination, and decrease maintenance costs.

Toward Zero Deaths awards
Boundary County was recognized for having zero traffic fatalities in 2015. Both the Idaho State Police and Boundary County commended the various partners involved in this highway safety accomplishment. So many people are involved in highway safety — from law enforcement to emergency medical services to ITD’s maintenance crews to citizens who call in when they suspect an impaired driver. It truly is a team effort.