3/11/2016

District 1
Rearden’s $60 solution potentially saves thousands for ITD fleet
Mike Rearden’s elegantly simple solution to a time-consuming, tank-loading issue in ITD’s northern Idaho office may eventually save thousands per district as the department adopts the measure statewide. For just $60, his innovation allows a necessary task to be done more quickly, which translates into getting trucks back out on the road more quickly during storms, a direct safety benefit for area drivers.
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District 4
I-84 Twin Bridges project near Burley hits milestone with girder placement
The final set of girders have been delivered and were placed this week, giving form to the first of two new bridges spanning the Snake River near Declo. The Interstate 84 Twin Bridges project is still months away from its mid-point, but the girders finally give a visual reference for the new structures.
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District 6
Eastern Idaho Railroad helps Thornton project
Hats off to the Eastern Idaho Railroad for letting Rocky Mountain Power run its power line along its right of way instead of making the power company reroute its line through Thornton. This concession enabled the Thornton Interchange project to proceed on schedule and saved ITD approximately $350,000.
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ITD Public Transportation
ITD Public Transportation section offers $108,000 in scholarships for rural transportation
ITD’s Public Transportation office is offering scholarships of up to $2,500 under Idaho’s Rural Transportation Assistance Program (RTAP), totaling more than $108,000. Public and non-profit organizations that provide transportation services in non-urbanized areas of Idaho are eligible to apply.
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District 2
Elk City landslide obliterates previous ITD social-media records
Much like the slide itself obliterated the previous mountainside, the visuals completely demolished existing ITD social-media records, with a combined 468,000 views.
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Daylight Savings Time
Time will leap forward Sunday
Starting Sunday, there will be an additional hour of daylight for yard work. That may be good news. That may be bad news.
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U.S. DOT
U.S. DOT issues guidance for states to 'repurpose' roughly $2 billion in unused earmarks
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx announced that roughly $2 billion in previously unused earmarks can be put back to work to support infrastructure projects across the country, as described in new guidance from the Federal Highway Administration.
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Highway Safety
Don’t press your luck this St. Patrick’s Day and drive impaired
If your St. Patrick’s Day celebrations include drinking, don’t depend on good luck to get home. The Idaho Transportation Department reminds motorists to make the right choice to drink responsibly and not drive impaired. Statewide, an impaired driving high-visibility education and enforcement campaign is underway March 12-20.
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District 1
Encore (03-04-16): N. Idaho crew excels in aftermath of traffic cabinet demolition
ITD’s northern Idaho crews were at their finest in the aftermath of a high-speed chase Feb. 7 in the Coeur d’Alene area (Northwest Blvd. and Ironwood Dr.) that demolished a signal box.
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Employees
Encore (03-04-16): Bathrick selected to serve on research board committee on Transportation to Dialysis Centers
Public Transportation Manager Mark Bathrick was nominated Feb. 18 to serve as a panel member on the Transportation to Dialysis Centers: Health/Transportation Policy Intersection committee of the Transportation Research Board.
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