Funding, Operations during Covid,
D5 achievements highlight
Idaho Transportation Board’s May meeting

Redirected GARVEE funding, continuing operations during the Corona Crisis, and District 5’s achievements highlighted the May 21 meeting of the Idaho Transportation Board. The monthly meeting was held via telephone.

Safety Share
Shane Brown from District 5 started the meeting with a safety message. As a member of the vegetation-management crew, he knows the importance of reading labels. They provide valuable information about the product, such as how to use it properly, and potential hazards posed by the product. He also emphasized the importance of using personal protective equipment.

ID-16 Corridor
As a follow-up to last month’s overview on ID-16 in District 3, the board approved additional funding for this GARVEE corridor.

It allocated I-84 GARVEE bond savings of $20 million to right-of-way acquisition and $14 million for design services. It is estimated that the final design can be completed in 18-24 months. The design work will be split into two separate packages. Board Policy 4001 states that all agreements with professional services providers that bring the department’s obligation to more than $1 million require board approval. The board also approved exceeding this amount to proceed with final design through Plans, Specifications, & Estimates of Phase 2 of the corridor, with a total cost for these services not to exceed $14 million.

Division of Motor Vehicle Update
ITD started issuing REAL ID-compliant drivers licenses, or Star Cards, in January 2018. The federal deadline for citizens to use these documents for federal purposes was Oct. 1, 2020. Due to COVID-19, the Department of Homeland Security extended the deadline to Oct. 1, 2021. More than 310,000 REAL ID cards have been issued to date, or nearly 60% of licenses issued, which exceeded the goal. Outreach to encourage citizens to get a Star Card will continue after the state reopens.

The board also heard about the Division’s efforts during the coronavirus pandemic. Overall, the Ports of Entry have been conducting business as usual. Approximately 130 Headquarters staff are working from home, taking over 1,000 telephone calls from the public and more than 800 calls from county offices daily. 

As the state and department reopens, staff is expecting to help the counties address a backlog of transactions, including 40,000 driver’s license and identification cards, 50,000 vehicle registrations, and over 10,000 titles. Citizens are being encouraged to complete transactions online.

District 5 Report
District 5 Engineer Todd Hubbard provided his inaugural report to the board. One of his focuses as a new district engineer has been to meet every district employee. His priorities are safety – every time ALL the time – and encouraging employees to learn something new every day. He commended staff for achieving a winter mobility rate of 91% this past winter and delivering 100% of its FY21 projects on time.

Several partners were also highlighted. The department worked with Bannock County, the Cities of Pocatello and Chubbuck, and the private sector on the I-15, Northgate Interchange. Staff works closely with the National Weather Service, receiving information on the forecast and providing that entity with weather conditions in the field. It is also working with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game on wildlife corridors and helped with radio collaring deer.

Policy Update
The board also concurred with revisions to an Administrative Policy.

Administrative Policy 5508 Smoking Policy was revised to prohibit the use of smoking, including the use of e-cigarettes or other devices that emit a vapor or smoke (vaping) in all ITD owned or leased buildings, vehicles, and equipment, and within 25 feet of an ITD building.
  
All policies can be found on Share Point under Policy Finder:  http://itdportal/sites/Admin/BSM3/PolicyFinder/default.aspx

Published 05-29-20