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Idaho Transportation Board meeting in Rigby features design-build initiative, Thornton Interchange, safety stats

A three-district collaboration on bridge work, review of highway safety data and discussion of the Thornton Interchange project highlighted the recent August meeting of the Idaho Transportation Board in eastern Idaho.

District 6 tour
The board visited the U.S. 20 Thornton Interchange construction site during its District 6 tour on Aug. 17.

The $11.2 million project north of Idaho Falls is expected to be completed at the end of November. The project includes removing five railroad crossings and adding one railroad safety crossing with lights and arms. Four at-grade intersections are being closed in conjunction with the project, which will complete the safety measures of closing all at-grade crossings from Idaho Falls to Sugar City. Four cameras are on site to track the construction progress and create a time-lapsed video. Bluetooth technology is also being used to track delays and traffic volumes.

2015 Highway Safety crash data
Staff provided an overview on the 2015 highway crash data at the business meeting in Rigby on Aug. 18. Nationwide, fatalities increased 7.7 percent from 2014.

There were 24,013 total highway crashes in Idaho last year. The crashes resulted in 216 fatalities and 1,351 serious injuries. This compares to 186 fatalities and 1,273 serious injuries in 2014. Crashes fluctuate, so it is important to look at five-year data.

Unrestrained fatalities increased almost 35 percent in 2015. Other notable increases were youthful-driver fatalities, up 70 percent; intersection-related fatalities, up 42 percent; and drowsy-driving fatalities,up 325 percent. Pedestrian fatalities decreased almost 43 percent, mature-driving fatalities decreased 10.4 percent, and bicycle fatalities decreased from two in 2014 to zero last year.

It was emphasized that the statistics are not mutually exclusive, as there may be several contributing factors to each crash. For example, a rear-end collision may have been caused by distractions, impairment or drowsiness. Staff analyze the data to determine the main causes of crashes so it can direct more resources to those contributing factors. Currently, the main emphasis is on decreasing distracted driving.

654 Design Build
In April, the Board approved using Unallocated State Funds to develop bridge replacement projects in anticipation of receiving Strategic Initiative Program Funds.

The department established two teams to work on these bridge projects. The board heard from the 654 Design Build team, which is working on developing bridge projects in Districts 6, 5, and 4, with District 6 taking the lead. Districts 1, 2, and 3 also established a team. Headquarters staff is participating on both teams.

The 654 Team’s scope is to group several bridges into a single design-build project for more efficient design and construction staging. It identified 28 potential bridges that are single span and at least 50 years old. Work will include design of new crossings to meet modern design standards, context sensitive design elements and innovative construction techniques. It was emphasized that the team members also have their regular daily duties to perform while working on the 654 Team.

District 6 report
District Engineer Jason Minzghor presented his first district report to the board.

Besides delivering all of District 6’s FY16 projects on time, staff delivered an additional $34 million worth of projects. The FY17 delivery is on schedule, as five projects have been delivered and the remaining three are expected to be delivered by September.

Minzghor also elaborated on the U.S. 20 safety improvements between Idaho Falls and Sugar City. Since corridor improvements started in 2001, $85 million has been spent to close 18 at-grade intersections and build seven interchanges. These efforts reduced injury crashes from 80 per year to 20, a 75-percent reduction. Fatalities fell from two per year to less than one annually.