3/29/2013

Professional conference
Two-day Project Development Conference opens Tuesday
Transportation professionals from throughout the state and region will meet in Boise next week to hear from national authorities, learn about innovations in the industry and celebrate best practices. The two-day Project Development Conference at the Boise Centre in downtown Boise, opens with registration Monday afternoon.
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Accolades
Engineering magazine names Brinkman 'Rising Star'
Jason Brinkman, whose professional career at ITD has been progressively mobile, was named one of the nation’s Rising Stars in Civil Engineering by the online publication CE News based in Arkansas. The magazine, which focuses on civil and structural engineering, announced the selection last week.
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Transportation board
DEQ presents air quality report
Idaho Transportation Board members last week learned about the threats of something rarely seen, but too often experienced – air pollution. Representatives of the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality presented information about the ill effects of pollution as part of the board’s monthly business meeting.
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Outstanding Customer Service
'Pooling' resources helps protect environment after fuel spill
Like duct tape, small portable pools have many uses, even protecting the environment. ITD’s Incident Response crews assisted with containment and cleanup of a fuel spill on Interstate 84 in Boise last week, fulfilling their role in protecting the public, motorists and the environment.
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Employees
Babic promoted to distinguished new position – ‘Retiree’
Communication once consisted of stone tablets and meticulous chiseling. It was a slow process, but then, life was less complicated in that era. Although Barbara Babic doesn’t recall those days, her workplace relied on typewriters and carbon copies when she joined the legion of ITD workers 26 years ago.
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Outstanding Customer Service
ITD's rock patrols essential highway safety practice
There’s nothing like a car-sized boulder resting in the middle of a highway to wreak havoc with your travels. Driving has its share of inherent risks, but ITD wants to do everything possible to remove dislodged rocks as a one of those hazards.
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Organ donations
Save lives by saying 'yes'
One person can make a life-changing difference for others by saying “yes” to being an organ donor. ITD reminds driver’s license holders that April is the 10th annual National Donate Life Month and that it’s easy to register for the life-saving donor program when renewing or applying for a new driver’s license.
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Outstanding Customer Service
D-3 crews help reduce risks of I-84 roadside fires
Fire agencies spent millions of dollars on fire-fighting efforts in Idaho last year. This spring, ITD’s District 3 is doing its part to prevent similar expenditures and the economic impacts to motorists caused by fire suppression efforts near highways.
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Highway safety
Spring prompts two-wheeled safety reminders
Brent Jennings: With spring finally here, we need to be reminded that there will be more pedestrian traffic on the roads and sidewalks. Here are some important safety reminders for bicyclists and motor vehicle operators ...
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Public involvement
Public shares ideas on I-84/Meridian interchange
Citizens shared their voices and opinions about ITD’s plan to replace the aging Interstate 84 interchange at Meridian Road. Comments during a March 21 public meeting on the design of the new interchange ranged from support for sidewalks to maintaining access during construction.
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Outstanding Customer Service
Encore (3-22-13): Spring conditions heighten risks of avalanches
Spring can bring chirping birds, fresh breezes and greener lawns and gardens. Unfortunately it also can bring dangerous spring avalanches. Last week was a prime example. The stretch of Idaho 21 between Grandjean Junction and Banner Summit was closed from Tuesday evening through Friday morning, opened for about five hours and then closed again until Saturday morning.
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Highways
Encore (3-22-13): Idaho given collective 'C-' for infrastructure
The American Society of Civil Engineers shared good news and bad this week. In its overview of America’s infrastructure condition, the 2013 Report Card, the cumulative grade showed slight improvement since the last report, issued in 2009.
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Employees
Encore (3-22-13): Director challenges long-term employees to become mentors
Competent, dedicated employees are critical to the success of a business and an organization explained Idaho Transportation Board member Dwight Horsch Tuesday. He used 42 years of experience operating a family farm in the Aberdeen area to emphasize the role employees play in both the private and public sector when he spoke at the semiannual service awards ceremony for Headquarters employees.
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Outstanding Customer Service
Encore (3-22-13): DMV experts simplifying process for customers
A group of 15 subject matter experts (SME) is working diligently behind the scenes to streamline Division of Motor Vehicles processes and prepare for the conversion to a new system under the DMV modernization process. They ”have been performing a superior job during the past year,” explains DMV Administrator Alan Frew. “They have been instrumental in looking at DMV business processes and identifying areas for improvement.”
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Highways
Encore (3-22-13): Hundreds of highway signs to be replaced
ITD will repair or replace nearly 150 highway signs along southwest Idaho roads this spring and summer as part of an annual commitment to improve safe travel. The department is responsible for providing safe roads for Idaho motorists, which includes ensuring clear and understandable information by providing proper signs.
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Highway safety
Encore (3-22-13): Safety restraints reduce fatalities, serious injuries
Brent Jennings: I recently got a report from the Idaho Hospital Association (IHA) that said falls were the leading cause of injury followed by motor vehicle crashes. It also mentioned the use of safety restraints were shown to decrease moderate injuries among drivers using airbag plus lap-shoulder belts by 73 percent, and by 60 percent among drivers using just the shoulder-lap belt.
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