7/1/2011

Budget savings
ITD Director Brian Ness discusses savings on Boise radio
ITD's $5.7 million in personnel and insurance savings reached the airwaves Friday in Boise. Director Brian Ness appeared on the KBOI morning radio show hosted by Paul J. Schneider and Larry Doss to explain the cost savings and how the funds are benefiting Idahoans.
Continue

Highways
Drive safely over July 4th holiday weekend
Work that would impact travel will be suspended on all ITD highway construction projects statewide for the Fourth of July holiday weekend, except in special circumstances. In most cases, work will resume Tuesday (July 5) or Wednesday (July 6). ITD requires contractors on highway construction projects to postpone work on any roadway, except for normal maintenance operations, during the extended holiday weekend if the work could delay the traveling public.
Continue

Contested case
Hearing officer recommends issuing Exxon/Mobil permits
A hearing officer recommended this week that ITD issue permits to ExxonMobil for the transport overlegal loads on U.S. 12. The company is proposing to move approximately 200 large loads from the Port of Lewiston to the Montana border on U.S. 12. Opponents argued against the issuance of the permits before retired judge Duff McKee during an April hearing in Boise.
Continue

Education
ITD volunteers share expertise with Canyon County youth
School is out but learning did not stop for nearly 100 students from Canyon County middle schools who spent two separate days touring ITD Headquarters and District 3 facilities. The purple-clad group built towers out of dry spaghetti and marshmallows, participated in chemistry, geotechnical and structural demonstrations, and got to watch materials get stretched, snapped and crushed.
Continue

Aeronautics
Twenty-five youth share common bond – aviation
The Aviation Career Exploration (ACE) academy, sponsored by ITD and the Division of Aeronautics, attracted one of its largest classes of high school students in recent memory June 20-22, including a record number of girls -- seven. During the three-day experience, students explore career opportunities in aviation and tour aeronautics-related sites and organizations in the Treasure Valley.
Continue

Education
ITD engineers use cookies to demonstrate road building
Erika Bowen and Mary Lockwood led a group of young women through an exercise designed to demonstrate how a road surface is constructed as part of the annual e-Girls Workshop at Boise State University recently. Instead of the typical aggregates – crushed rock, sand and limestone dust or cement – the young women worked with chopped walnuts, coconut and oats.
Continue

Accolades
AASHTO subcommittee presents achievement award to Reese
Longtime ITD engineer and hydrologist Lotwick Reese recently received the Region 4 Design Award at the annual American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) meeting in St. Louis. The annual award is given for outstanding achievement in design by a member of AASHTO’s subcommittee on design or one of its technical committees, explains ITD Design Engineer Nestor Fernandez.
Continue

Retirement
DoRolCo loses a leader; ITD bids farewell to a planner
Ron Kerr, an instrumental part of rail and freight planning and rail project development in Idaho the past 34 years, will focus on new horizons after retiring from ITD June 21. Ron served as the state rail planner and rail program manager at ITD since 1977.
Continue

Employees
State introduces new Employee Assistance Provider
Blue Cross of Idaho and the state of Idaho recently announced that ComPsych® is the new provider of GuidanceResources® services (Employee Assistance Provider) as of July 1. GuidanceResources benefits will give state employees and their dependents confidential support, resources and information for personal and work-life issues. These services are provided at no charge to employees.
Continue

AASHTO
Executive director reflects on 55th anniversary of interstate
"As we recognize the 55th anniversary of the federal interstate program, let's celebrate the tremendous achievement of a national system of superhighways that has transformed our nation and our economy. It is a symbol of freedom and a tribute to human ingenuity," said John Horsley, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportaton Officials (ASHTO).
Continue

Encore (6-24-11): Headquarters
Iconic turquoise building turns 50
ITD’s iconic, turquoise three-story Headquarters building rose from an old farmstead on the rural fringe of Boise in 1961. The spacious 44-acre campus stands apart as an enclave in a neighborhood of developing businesses. Completed 50 years ago this month, the building predated formal creation of the Idaho Transportation Department by 13 years.
Continue

Encore (6-24-11): Girls State
Idaho Falls teen gets to know ITD from the inside
In one week Jodee Whittier helped build a city, populate a county and organize a state government. She topped those achievements off by serving briefly as ITD Director. Jodee was part of a contingent of about 260 girls who arrived from all corners of Idaho Sunday to participate in the annual Girls State experience sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary.
Continue

Accolades
Encore (6-24-11): Goodwill Staffing names ITD region's top employer
When ITD needed temporary workers to cover for employees who were shifted to the Division of Motor Vehicles modernization project and installation of new telephones, it turned to Goodwill Staffing Services. The short-term need was satisfied by temporary employment of 11 individuals in DMV, 11 for the telephone installation project and two employees at District 4 in Shoshone. DMV now has 7.5 Goodwill Staffing Services employees.
Continue

Encore (6-24-11): Advancement
Brinkman, Schroeder take on new temporary positions
Two individuals who have guided the GARVEE (Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle) construction program through its busiest seasons received new appointments this week. GARVEE Program Manager Jason Brinkman will become ITD’s acting Right of Way Manager effective Monday (June 27). Amy Schroeder, who has worked closely with Brinkman the past three years as GARVEE Program Engineer will assume his role as acting program manager.
Continue

Encore (6-24-11): Highway safety
Impaired driving campaign planned in July
Ensuring safe travel on Idaho highways is a prime reason for high visibility education and enforcement campaigns that target impaired driving, such as one planned statewide June 30 - July 11, which includes the Fourth of July holiday. The effort is part of the department’s commitment to achieve a goal of zero deaths on Idaho highways.
Continue