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2-15-08
U.S.
12 avalanches prove to be mounting problem
Winter
... It's snow picnic
Crews labor overtime to keep highways open
Winter returned to Idaho in December and
it’s been vastly different than the
conditions motorists grew accustomed to
the past few years. The first snowfall in
northern and eastern Idaho did not provide
a hint of what was to come. December gave
way to January and normal gave way to extraordinary.
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New
avalanches set back cleanup of U.S. 12
Conditions
improved this week on Idaho’s highways,
thanks to a short reprieve from the weather.
But the calendar – and history –
suggests winter has not run its full course
yet. U.S. 12 remained closed between Lowell
and Lolo Pass as crews remove avalanche debris
from the highway. They made significant progress
the previous week and hoped to restore traffic
early this week. But the discovery Tuesday
of two new large avalanches will extend the
closure into a third week.
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Users
of 511 Traveler Services weigh in on system
Winter weather and resulting highway challenges
elevated use the past two months of the 511
Traveler Services Web and telephone system
to record levels. Many of the people responding
to the system, introduced in 2005, have recommended
changes that ultimately will lead to an even
better, more responsive system.
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Transportation
Board
Governor
appoints Gagner to fill District 6 spot on board
Gov.
C.L. “Butch” Otter Thursday appointed
Lee Gagner (GAHN’-yay), an Idaho Falls
builder/developer and former four-term Republican
member of the Idaho House of Representatives,
to fill the eastern Idaho position on the Idaho
Transportation Board.
He succeeds John X. Combo of Idaho Falls, whose
term expired Jan. 31.
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Board
to consider report on rising right-of-way
costs
Idaho Transportation Board members have expressed
concern over steadily escalating right-of-way
costs and their impact on highway construction.
In response, the transportation department
staff will provide a summary of the right-of-way
acquisition process, the costs involved and
efforts to control those costs when the board
meets next week in Boise.
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511
Traveler Services
Telephone system to move from Atlanta to Iowa
The telephone system that supports Idaho’s
511 Traveler Services will relocate from an
IBM call center in Atlanta to a facility operated
by Qwest Communications in Ames, Iowa, beginning
Monday said Alison Lantz, manager of Idaho’s
system.
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Highways
D-4
employee develops new appreciation for highways
crews
It’s a situation nobody wants to find himself
in, but endless hours on the road in only the
worst of driving conditions will soon or later
result in a crash. Already this winter, several
crashes involving Idaho Transportation Department
snow plows have happened. Luckily, most have resulted
in nothing more than property damage.
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Girl
Scouts call D-4 snow plow drivers their Valentine's
It was an unexpected gift on Valentine’s
Day gifts often reserved for more notable local
heroes and politicians. But on Thursday, members
of Girl Scout Troop 77 honored District 4 snow
plow drivers with homemade cookies and Valentine's
cards. More than 30 Scouts were greeted by a handful
of crew members at the Shoshone Maintenance shed
where six bags of cookies and more than 100 cards
– to be distributed throughout the district
– were presented to the drivers.
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Technology
Cyber
Security warns of malicious Valentine's e-mail
The
Idaho Department of Administration reports another
spam attack associated with the Storm Worm. Officials
believe the e-mails are being blocked effectively
but some may have made it past the filters. The
e-mails appear to be electronic Valentine’s
greetings and may contain attachments or links
to potentially malicious Web sites.
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Employees
ITD
fills two positions that have statewide impact
ITD recently filled two positions that have statewide
responsibilities. Amy Schroeder was named the new
GARVEE Program Engineer, effective Feb. 10, and
Adam Rush was chosen to be ITD’s public involvement
coordinator.
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Environment
ITD
employees offer suggestions to reduce paper use
Matt
Moore, Administrator of the Division of Transportation
Planning and Programming, recently received a tip
for reducing paper consumption – simply expand
the margins by one-half inch on both sides of a
document. Several ITD employees, in response to
the Feb. 1 Transporter article, suggested taking
the concept a couple of additional steps.
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Engineers
ITD
helps in Future City competition for youths
Idaho’s fourth regional National Engineers
Week Future City Competition™ on Jan.12
offered a welcome perspective. While conventional
wisdom offers no shortage of doomsday scenarios
for the years to come, middle school students
are taking a hard look at the future and are determined
to make it better. The Future City Competition
asked middle school age students to design cities
of tomorrow, first on a computer using SimCity
software and then in large tabletop models.
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Customer
service
ITD installs telephones to help hearing impaired
Telephones to receive incoming calls from members
of the public who are hearing impaired and are
using a TDD have been installed at Headquarters
and district offices. In addition to the phone
that has been located in DMV for some time, others
recently were installed at the Headquarters information
kiosk and at the reception desk in each district.
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Public
Transportation
New
service to link Payette, Fruitland, Ontario, Ore.
After
months of planning, a new bus service –
dubbed Snake River Transit – will begin
operating between Ontario, Payette and Fruitland
July 1. Scheduled routes have not been identified
yet, but plans for the new service include adding
two buses that will travel through those three
communities with hourly stops.
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Digital
television
FCC
urges viewers to prepare for digital transition
As
many people already may know, on Feb.17, 2009,
full power broadcast television stations will
stop broadcasting in analog format and will continue
broadcasting in digital only, the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) announces.
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ITD
Mailbox
•
Working hard to ensure interrupted service
• Outstanding winter maintenance on Idaho 55
• Generosity of the heart
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Legislature
Director
presents budget request to JFAC
ITD Director Pam Lowe outlined the department’s
Fiscal Year 2009 budget proposal and requested authorization
for an additional $134 million in GARVEE bonds when
she and department leaders met with the Legislature’s
Joint Finance-Appropriation Committee Thursday.
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Employees
Governor affirms priorities for compensation package
One
of the biggest frustrations during my six years in
Congress was the way in which the federal government
danced around the fact that it promises far more than
it can deliver. Whether it's making the promised Payments
in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) to our rural counties or paying
an aging populations Social Security benefits, the
bottom line is that the government's fast-growing
unfunded liability already is burdening future generations
of our citizens.
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Transportation
issues
Chairman,
director field questions from public TV audience
Idaho citizens from Sandpoint to Chubbuck took advantage
of new access to transportation when they posed
questions to Transportation Board Chairman Darrell
Manning and ITD Director Pam Lowe recently. Manning
and Lowe addressed a variety of transportation-related
topics when they appeared on a special one-hour
segment of Idaho Public Television’s Dialogue
Jan. 24.
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Employees
Highway
group honors two ITD employees
The
Idaho Highway Users Inc. honored two ITD employees
with Motorvator Awards for outstanding contributions
to Idaho’s highway transportation system during
a luncheon the group hosted for state legislators
Tuesday in Boise. Jim Smith, Lewiston area foreman
for District 2, was named Maintenance Person of
the Year and Carl Horn, traffic services foreman
for District 4, was awarded Safety Person of the
Year honor.
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Research
Proposals accepted for transportation-related projects
ITD’s Research Program is soliciting proposals
for research, development, and/or technology transfer
projects. Proposals can address any subject area
where research or related activities will benefit
the department. Proposals that address the department's
strategic goals and/or key department initiatives
will be given preference.
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