12/23/2015

Idaho Transportation Board
Board’s December meeting features annual reviews of trucking, highway safety and public transportation
Review of the trucking advisory council’s annual activities, a briefing on highway safety planning efforts and a discussion of public transportation — including the addition of a new regional member — were highlights of the Idaho Transportation Board’s business meeting Dec. 17 in Boise.
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Tracking Santa
Both naughty and nice can track Santa this Christmas
Beginning Dec. 24 at 2:01 a.m. EST, visitors to the NORAD Tracks Santa site (www.noradsanta.org) can use 2D and 3D tracking maps — known as Santa Trackers — to follow Santa on his annual journey around the globe.
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Holiday Safety
Treasure Valley law enforcement unite to stop impaired driving this holiday season
Law enforcement officers from across the Treasure Valley are teaming up to stop impaired driving this holiday season. The Boise, Caldwell and Nampa Police Departments and the Idaho State Police, as part of the Treasure Valley DUI Task Force, are joining together to enforce impaired driving laws through the holiday season.
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District 5
Improvements to eastern Idaho pond enter final phase
ITD is completing the final phase of work at a former gravel quarry called Dingle Pond, which lies adjacent to the Bear River east of Dingle in Bear Lake County. Work at the pond is designed to restore wildlife habitat, protect water quality and provide better management of the pond, which was used by the transportation department as a source for gravel.
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AASHTO
Survey finds 70 percent of state DOTs are tracking El Niño's potential impacts on winter weather
The tricky-to-track ocean and atmospheric phenomenon known as El Niño has prompted state departments of transportation to make winter-weather preparations in the face of uncertainty.
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Public Transportation
Public transportation office hosts PTAC conference call Dec. 29
Introduction of a new Public Transportation Advisory Council (PTAC) member to represent eastern Idaho and review of a funding extension for a federal program to enhance mobility for seniors and persons with disabilities will be topics of a statewide conference call Tuesday, Dec. 29.
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Idaho Transportation Board
Encore (12-18-15): ITD board selects General Fund surplus projects
The Idaho Transportation Board selected road and bridge projects Dec. 17 for maintenance and repair work as part of the department's Strategic Initiatives Program (SIP), authorized by the Idaho Legislature. Selections were based on analysis of each project's return on investment in safety, mobility and economic opportunity.
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Department Vision
Encore (12-18-15): Director’s visioning for DMV highlights “unique opportunity”
In early December, ITD Director Brian Ness addressed the department’s DMV section, with much of his presentation focused on the “unique opportunity” ahead. Ness repeatedly discussed the opportunity to shape the culture, the customer-service atmosphere, and the overall tenor of the section (and department) for the next several decades.
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District 2
Encore (12-18-15): Cultural items reunited with Nez Perce Tribe
Nearly four decades after a highway project unearthed them, a lengthy curation project has repatriated several sets of Native American human remains with the Nez Perce Tribe, along with several thousand artifacts and related documents from north-central Idaho.
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