9/14/2012

Rest stop
Groundbreaking planned for new ITD, Nez Perce facility
A new partnership involving the Nez Perce Tribe and ITD will provide much needed relief for travelers on U.S. 95 south of Lewiston. ITD representatives will join tribal leaders Thursday to celebrate the beginning of construction on an expanded traveler facility near Winchester. The public groundbreaking will be at 1:30 p.m. (PST).
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Transportation board
Transportation board to conclude summer district tours
The Idaho Transportation Board will embark on its final district tour of the year next week when it visits District 4. The focus of the tour will be on the Wood River Valley. Activities include visiting Friedman Memorial Airport and the Mountain Rides facilities. The board also will hear about highway projects in the area.
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AASHTO
Cole to help oversee development of computer programs
ITD’s presence in national transportation took another step when Chief Engineer Tom Cole was named to a special committee of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). He accepted a seat on the nine-member Special Committee for Joint Development that provides oversight for AASHTOware.
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Highways
ITD provides peace and quiet along with pedestrian safety
Finding the right balance – or volume – sometimes is difficult to satisfy the needs of a diverse community. Ask a new tenant in Sandpoint … and District 1 traffic engineer Michael Porcelli.
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Highways
Expanding coverage
An addition to the Mountain Home maintenance shed, scheduled for completion in mid-October, will allow the crew to put trucks in the expanded, covered building with the plow and sander attached. That’s something they’ve been unable to do since 2007 when the newest fleet of trucks arrived.
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Employees
Bright ideas for 'bright beginnings'
Bright Beginnings is a prenatal program designed to promote healthy prenatal care through education to expectant mothers. Blue Cross of Idaho offers this program to any state of Idaho employee, or their spouse, who is pregnant.
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Highway safety
ISP, ITD partnership helps detect impaired drivers
ITD and the Idaho State Police strengthened their commitment to highway safety and curbing impaired driving when they collaborated to created a full-time position, State Impaired Driving Coordinator (SIDC). The SIDC position was established to provide oversight to three of Idaho's essential impaired driving programs.
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Idaho State Police
Office named after Idaho's first fallen trooper
Trooper Fontaine Cooper was the first Idaho trooper killed in the line of duty. His service to Idaho and his tragic death were memorialized this morning when ISP named the District 4 office in his honor. ISP officers, joined by citizens, elected officials, other law enforcement agencies and the news media, were on hand for the dedication ceremony in Jerome.
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Highway history
Encore (9-7-12): New historic marker memorializes Idaho POW camp
Minidoka County Historical Society President Gus Bryngelson told a story that, upon arriving at the World War II prisoner of war Camp Rupert, the first groups of Germans were told by guards that if they tried to escape north across the desert toward the railroad that a band of Indians were camped out ready to take their scalps.
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Highway safety
Encore (9-7-12): Idaho earns national motorcycle safety award
Idaho received the 2012 Outstanding State Award from the National Association of State Motorcycle Safety Administrators (SMSA) for its efforts to promote motorcycle safety. The award recognizes a state’s comprehensive motorcycle safety program that has “implemented strategies that are successful, effective and can be measured, evaluated and serve best practices.”
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Preparedness
Encore (9-7-12): Best way to cope with disaster is to prepare for it
Disasters happen, and the best way to cope with the unexpected is to plan for it. ITD Emergency Program Manager Bryan Smith encourages employees to prepare home kits to survive without conventional services, such as food, water, electricity and transportation for an extended period.
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Highways
Encore (9-7-12): Progress report: Extension of Idaho 16
Work began early this summer on the first phase of extending Idaho 16 – a project that is expected to be completed in August 2014. The first phase will connect State Street to Chinden Boulevard and construct a new 1,700-foot bridge over the Boise River. Long-range plans include an extension of the highway that will tie in with Interstate 84 between Meridian and Nampa, although funding has not been secured yet.
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Highway safety
Encore (9-7-12): Back to school? Check teen's cars for road worthiness
New jeans, new shoes, new tires? Families spend more than $600 on back-to-school supplies, but how much do they spend on their teen’s driver safety? A new school year is an exciting time for teens. It means new clothes, new school supplies, a new schedule of classes; it’s a great new start!
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Fire lookout
Encore (9-7-12): Agency creates signs to warn I-84 motorists of fire danger
Careless people flicking a burning cigarette butt out the window, flaming bits of rubber from flat tires, ignitions from target-shooting and sparks from railroad cars have ignited more than 135 human-caused range fires in southern Idaho so far in the summer of 2012, leading to the destruction of more than 35,000 acres of rangeland habitat.
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