12/12/2012
Reed Hollinshead
ITD Communication
208-334-8881
reed.hollinshead@itd.idaho.gov
Horseshoe Bend, Murphy, Garden Valley: ITD maintenance-shed shuffle improves service, response time
Note: The Idaho Transportation Department has maintenance sheds in numerous locations in Southwestern Idaho, to serve more than 2,600 lane miles of roads. The region also has 668,000 residents (43 percent of the state's population), the most bridges and the largest geographical area to maintain of ITD's six districts. There are currently sheds in Banks, Boise, Bruneau, Caldwell, Cascade, Council, Emmett, Hammett, Idaho City, Lowman, Marsing, Mountain Home, New Meadows, New Plymouth, Orchard, Riddle and Weiser.
A few changes are coming:
Relocation of maintenance shed to Horseshoe Bend will provide more timely, efficient service
Better response to Gem and northern Ada counties and continued response to Banks and Garden Valley are at the top of the list of benefits when the Banks maintenance shed relocates to Horseshoe Bend in 2014. The move is driven by the Forest Service’s reluctance to renew ITD’s lease at the current site.
“We will provide better service to the grade south of Horseshoe Bend,” said Tom Points, district operations manager.
“The grade used to be plowed by Boise Maintenance, but the increase in Interstate 84 lane miles from GARVEE means plows need to stay in the valley when it snows. The grade is maintained by the Cascade and Banks sheds currently. A Horseshoe Bend shed will improve service to customers on the grade.”
Click here for Points sound bite.
Points said the site was chosen because ITD already had a significant investment in land and facilities at the Horseshoe Bend POE and sand-shed site.
A new shed is planned in Garden Valley in a few years to service the Banks-to-Lowman highway that will soon become a state route.
New maintenance shed in Murphy increases coverage for local area
Construction began Nov. 21 on a new ITD maintenance shed in Murphy to open in early spring. The new Murphy shed will increase snowplow coverage for the region and is more efficient for roadway maintenance.
The location of the new maintenance shed helps to reduce the distance between existing ITD sheds and improve response times.
The Murphy shed will be located about two miles east of town. The responsibilities for the Murphy shed includes portions of Idaho 78, 45, 167 and 51.
The Murphy shed will inherit these roadway sections - currently handled by the Bruneau and Riddle sheds - as the new shed is put into service. The Marsing shed is part of the new maintenance area, encompassing parts of U.S. 95 and Idaho 55.
“We are doing this to make the best use of our resources for winter maintenance,” explained District Maintenance Engineer Tom Points. “Realigning the Mountain Home and Caldwell maintenance boundaries and building this new shed in Murphy will help ITD provide better snowplow coverage and will increase customer service.”
“The users of these highways will benefit,” explained Points, “along with truckers of oversized loads who often use Idaho 78.”
David Stephenson, the ITD roadway foreman in Grangeville for 22 years before transferring to Southwest Idaho, is the new Murphy maintenance foreman.