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Location of district facilities, efforts in rail safety on agenda at Sept. 21-22 meeting of Idaho Transportation Board in Shoshone

A discussion of possible district facility relocation, rail safety efforts, and upcoming capital facilities expenditures will highlight the Idaho Transportation Board’s September meeting in Shoshone.

The meeting will kick off with a tour of area highways, specifically the Interstate 84 corridor east of Twin Falls, on Sept. 21. Some of the stops on the tour will be visits to the Twin Bridges construction site, to the Cotterel Port of Entry, and to major regional employers.

On Sept. 22, the meeting will move to the District 4 offices, and will include:

District 4
Staff will present a District 4 administrative building report. District management desires to improve the workplace environment for employees and customers. The original structure was built in 1955. The building report reviewed previous efforts to improve the facility, analyzed the cost benefits of remodeling the current structure versus building a new one, considered a lease option, and examined issues related to the physical location of the current facility and future improvements.

Remodeling the existing office is estimated to cost $4.2 million, building a new office in Shoshone is estimated to cost $3.8 million, and constructing a building at a new location is expected to cost $3.9 million. The new sites considered in the study are in downtown Jerome, the Jerome business park near the I-84 and U.S. 93 intersection, and in Twin Falls. The report also considered the geographic center of the district, the employee center (where employees reside), and the population center.

Rail-Highway Crossing Annual Report
The annual Rail-Highway Crossing Program report will be presented to the board. The five-year average rate of fatalities at rail-highway crossings is 2.2. The serious injuries average 2.8.

The State Railroad Grade Crossing Protection Fund receives $250,000 annually for rail-highway projects. Some funds are used to support public education and safety programs that promote awareness of public safety at railroad grade crossings. Some of the safety activities include the Officer on a Train program, the Adopt-a-Crossing program, and public service announcements.

Some recent infrastructure projects include active grade-crossing equipment installation or upgrades at Elmira Road in Bonner County, Pennsylvania Avenue in the city of Fruitland, and South Yellowstone Avenue in Fremont County.

Six-Year Capital Facilities Program
A review of the Six-Year Capital Facilities Program is also on the board’s agenda.

The department owns and operates approximately 600 office buildings, maintenance buildings or sheds, and yard sites. Funds in the building program are allocated in two areas: districts and headquarters capital building and statewide and aeronautics alterations and repairs.

Some of the projects planned in FY17 include a Powell equipment shed; a Grandview sand shed; a Shoshone truck wash; and a St. Anthony maintenance building. The total FY17 budget is $3.3 million. The FY19 capital expenditures address the replacement of the existing District 4 administrative office, which needs to be replaced because it has reached its useful life.