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Idaho Transportation
Department

Office of Communications
P.O. Box 7129
Boise, ID 83707
208.334.8005
Fax: 208.334.8563
E-mail

 

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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Published previously

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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