12/12/2014

Department History
ITD’s 25-year time capsule full of memories, peculiarities of the late '80s
Given a quarter-century of hindsight, the items unearthed from ITD’s 1989 time capsule Tuesday provided an atmosphere of nostalgia and amusement. The capsule was unearthed at 9 a.m. from the corner of the department's East Annex parking lot, in the same location where it was buried as part of a dedication of a grove of trees donated by the University of Idaho’s forestry department for their centennial celebration.
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Idaho Transportation Board
Signs, money and services top board agenda at Dec. 18 meeting
Outdoor advertising signs, a financial report and professional service agreements will be lead discussion topics during the Idaho Transportation Board’s monthly meeting Dec. 18 in Headquarters’ Auditorium.
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Highway Safety
Road-clearing award for Jensen shows commitment to public safety
Gem State drivers can breathe a bit easier this winter thanks, in large part, to the efforts of Dennis Jensen and the winter performance measures initiative he spearheaded and applied statewide.
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Employees
National Weather Service display provides weather information for travelers
The National Weather Service (NWS) is expanding its Travel Hazard Decision Support web page that brings weather impacts and highways into focus for those trying to determine a safe time to travel.
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Customer Service
Wright earns kudos for assisting frazzled Farmer on freeway
ITD’s Incident Response team in District 3 has earned numerous kudos in their two decades of assisting Treasure Valley drivers. For Jim Farmer, that history didn’t matter – what did resonate was the help he received from Kyle Wright on a dark, wet and cold late-November evening.
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AASHTO
2015 Bottom Line Report estimates $163 billion needed annually to fix nation's aging transportation system
The "2015 Bottom Line Report" on transportation investment needs estimates that to meet current demand it will require an annual capital investment over six years by all levels of government in the amount of $120 billion in the nation's highway and bridge network and $43 billion in America's public transportation infrastructure.
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Employee Development
Carter receives national hearing-officer certification
A law degree, more than 52 hours of training and attendance at national conferences have earned Idaho Transportation Department Hearing Officer Skip Carter national recognition through the National Association of Hearing Officials (NAHO).
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Winter Preparedness
ITD employees prepare for winter in Avalanche Alley
Just outside of Avalanche Alley, as the slide-prone, 12-mile stretch of Idaho 21 between Grandjean Junction and Banner Summit is known, some 40 ITD employees spent Dec. 4 in Lowman taking part in an all-day workshop about working in Idaho’s most active avalanche zone.
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Public transportation
Public transportation advisory group seeks north-central Idaho representative
The Public Transportation Advisory Committee (PTAC) is seeking a representative for District 2 in north-central Idaho to serve on their advisory council.
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Kudos
Encore (12-05-14): District 3’s road-clearing efforts publicly recognized
ITD takes great pride in clearing the roads and ensuring safe travel for area motorists. It is one of our key performance measures, and an area in which the department consistently excels. Those efforts are not always recognized, but Connie Behee, for one, notices:
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Division of Aeronautics
Encore (12-05-14): Texas-to-Idaho backcountry flyer thanks Idaho Aeronautics
Many recreational pilots consider the Johnson Creek airstrip, just beyond McCall near Yellow Pine, to be one of the crown jewels of Idaho’s stable of backcountry destinations. Count Chris McCrank among those fans.
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Customer Service
Encore (12-05-14): Rawls and Oien go above and beyond to resolve license issue in aftermath of Oakland gunpoint robbery
Being robbed has ramifications that reverberate well beyond the initial incident, a reality known all too well by Rick and Becky Groff. There are some intangibles that are taken in a robbery, such as a sense of safety and security and your faith in the common decency of people. There are also some very real things taken, such as wallets containing credit cards and identification, which are needed to get life back on track.
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