4/26/2013

Outstanding Customer Service
ITD maintains vigil for highway soft spots
Less affectionately known as sinkholes, or large potholes, soft spots like the one that surfaced recently in Chicago's South Side, usually result from water damage from rain or floods, but damage may be accelerated by man-made means or by rodents. ITD maintenance crews in southwest Idaho try to stay ahead of these problems by being vigilant and recognizing the warning signs.
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Being the best
Official to study ITD emergency program
ITD will have an opportunity to showcase its innovations in emergency management next month during a visit by Frannie Edwards of the National Transportation Security Center. Edwards is deputy director of the center, which is part of the Mineta Transportation Institute. Her visit is scheduled for May 17.
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Highway safety
ITD offers tips for drivers who encounter dust storms
Rural Idaho highways that cut through arid land or next to open fields are vulnerable to blowing dust in the spring and blinding snowstorms in the winter. Reduced visibility, whether the result of dust, snow or fog, requires extreme caution to ensure the safety of vehicle occupants and other motorists. ITD joins the Idaho State Police in encouraging drivers to use extreme caution when encountering high winds and low visibility.
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Outstanding Customer Service
Transition to new Advantage version nearly flawless
ITD replaced its legacy financial system Oracle with Advantage 3.4 in 2006. In the midst of that process, the Canadian firm CGI purchased Advantage from AMS. Four years later, ITD upgraded to 3.7 in a relatively simple transition. Introduction of the latest version (3.9) was much more complicated and involved several months of preparation.
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Employees
Celebration of culture leaves little room for boredom
Lose the four walls and shake off that winter stupor by getting out and experiencing some of the cultural activities that make Idaho a special place during May. Here is a sample of what you might find to enjoy.
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Employees
Little horses invited to ITD brown-bag lunch series
Learn more about miniature horses and how they make a difference in the lives they touch June 5. The noon presentation in the Darrell V Manning Boardroom and Auditorium at Headquarters is part of ITD’s Diversity brown-bag lunch series.
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Transportation Performance
Input sought on grant award, administration guidelines
ITD is developing guidelines on how to award and administer funds to local communities for projects both on and off the highway system. Division of Transportation Performance staff developed draft guidelines based on federal requirements for funding and previous program guides (including Safe Routes to School, Scenic Byways and Transportation Enhancement)
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Employees
Adults should consider pertussis vaccination
Pertussis – more commonly known as whooping cough – is a contagious disease that has been rising in recent years.  But, did you know that you could avoid the disease along with discomforts associated with it and potentially lost work time by getting a vaccination?
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Highway safety
A day in the life of highway safety
Brent Jennings, PE: I often get asked about crashes and the various aspects or categories of these crashes. I want to share with you the concept of the Idaho crash clock for 2012. Doing so may give us a chance to pause, reflect and put vehicle crashes in perspective.
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Environmental stewardship
Encore: Support your local osprey
It was the moment of truth. Crews placed an osprey nest atop a high platform and began to tamp down dirt around the base of the supporting pole. Suddenly, an osprey flew by to inspect the nest. The maneuver relieved the minds of ITD environmental planners who worried that relocating the nest from the Del Rio Bridge on the U.S. 20 business loop east of St. Anthony would drive the birds away.
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Outstanding Customer Service
Encore: Motorists depend on quick Incident Response
ITD’s Incident Response on Interstate 84 in the Treasure Valley always has been timely – just ask the tens of thousands of Treasure Valley drivers who have benefited from the service since it was deployed in the mid-1990s. But, just how speedy the responses have been, was a mystery – until recently.
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Highway safety
Encore: Idaho teenagers more likely to die in car crashes
Idaho’s teenagers are more likely to die as a result of a car crash than by other causes, according to the state’s 2011 vital statistics. Idaho parents lost 68 sons and daughters younger than 19, as a result of motor vehicle crashes from 2009-11.
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AASHTO
Encore: Photography contest focuses on transportation
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) this week announced the commencement of its ninth annual Faces of Transportation photography contest.
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