6/27/2014

Transportation Board
Delegations, a D3 report and money for airports lead board discussion at June meeting
Visits by public transportation delegations, an annual report on District 3 activities and a budget for the Idaho Airport Aid Program highlighted transportation board activities during its June 18-19 monthly meeting in Boise.
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Districts
Revis joins ITD as new district engineer in Boise July 21
After three decades at the Washington State Department of Transportation in the Longview and Tumwater offices, Amy Revis joins ITD as the new district engineer for District 3 July 21. "I am pleased to announce Amy Revis as the new D3 district engineer," Chief Operating Officer Jim Carpenter said in his announcement earlier this week.
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Highways
Speed limit increase on Idaho's interstates delayed for review
The planned increase in interstate speed limits on rural sections of I-84, I-86 and I-15 will be delayed as the Idaho Transportation Department reviews input expressed since the announcement early this week of a change to 80 mph. The department has completed the review of speed studies, crash analysis and engineering review, and will present this to the Idaho Transportation Board in Coeur d’Alene July 11.
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Girls State
Pocatello teen becomes ITD director-for-a-day as part of annual Girls State program
Some high school students may seem hard to impress, but Girls State participant Malia Braun discovered that sitting in the pilot’s seat of ITD’s King Air turboprop was impressive and required a “selfie.” Braun was one of 240 high school junior girls from across Idaho selected this year to attend Girls State and learn first-hand how state and local government works. The American Legion Auxiliary sponsors the annual Girls State experience.
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Transportation Funding
Addressing highway infrastructure needs
We rely on our highways to get goods to markets both at home and abroad. We rely on them to get to work and school. We rely on them for recreation and tourism. We rely on them to help grow our economy. In a nation and state as expansive as ours, we cannot afford to be lax in the upkeep of our transportation infrastructure.
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Customer Service
Encore (6-20-14) Farrer and Staley provide great emergency service on blowout
Rosie Panter submitted a letter to the editor to the Idaho Statesman in the first week of June thanking a pair of good Samaritans from ITD who changed a flat tire for her after she hit a curb at McDonalds, blew out her tire, and just missed causing a rear-end collision around 1 p.m. the week before. Panter had her emergency flashers on in the turn lane heading into a dead end when Marc Farrer (Res. 3 Construction) and Jim Staley (Res. 2 Construction) stopped to help.
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DMV Services
Encore (6-20-14) DMV customer service work gains new fan
ITD’s commitment to customer service was recently acknowledged when a customer needed help with his driver’s license. The caller left a phone message for DMV’s Lisa Helton about the service he received from Michelle Radford.
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Headquarters
Encore (6-20-14) Aversion to downshifting warps ITD pool car brake rotors
For years, ITD pool cars traveling down steep grades have come back to the mechanic shop with the same problem: warped brake rotors from drivers who do not downshift as they descend and choose instead to ride their brakes all the way down. "We have a problem with people who use our pool cars that travel to the northern districts," said Bob Williams, ITD highway equipment analyst.
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Division of Motor Vehicles
Encore (6-20-14) Idaho driver's license practice test app now available
A free mobile app from the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) is now available to test your knowledge of the rules of the road. The app is a practice test, which consists of 32 multiple choice questions, and provides results as soon as the test is completed. “Even though these are not the exact questions from the knowledge test, this will help people study the Driver’s License Manual to be able to pass the actual test,” said Debra Hall, driver’s license program supervisor.
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Occupational Safety
Encore (6-20-14) Transportation workers at high risk of heat-related illness
Hundreds of ITD employees spend countless hours each summer battling the elements under a relentlessly brutal sun. The situation itself is unavoidable, so being able to approach it in the safest manner possible is of utmost importance. “Thousands of workers across the country become sick from exposure to heat each year, and some even die,” explained District 3 Safety Compliance Officer Eric Copeland. “The truth is that any worker exposed to hot and humid conditions is at risk of heat illness.”
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Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program
Encore (6-20-14) Free USDOT bonding education workshop offered July 9-10 in Boise
Public construction projects require surety bonding and insurance for contractors so the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) and US Department of Transportation (USDOT) will host a free bonding education workshop July 9-10 designed to help with that process. The workshop is open to all contractors seeking to increase business capacity and run operations more efficiently.
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