10/26/2012

Outstanding Customer Service
FHWA honors Fuller for work on national guide
ITD’s Glenda Fuller, an integral member of a group revising a national guide for monitoring traffic, received the Federal Highway Administrator’s Public Service Award for her contributions. Pete Hartman, FHWA’s Idaho division manager, presented the national award during a ceremony last week at Headquarters.
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Employees
Images of service
Idaho Transportation Board members agreed Thursday that one of the most gratifying tasks on their agenda twice a year is to honor employees for their continued service. Last week, they applauded as Director Brian Ness and Deputy Director Scott Stokes presented awards to 44 honorees and three retirees.
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HIghways
Winter conditions visit Idaho
Winter weather began knocking at Idaho’s door this week, delivering snow at higher elevations, brief whiteout conditions and black ice on Interstate 90 near Post Falls. ITD began preparing for the arrival several weeks ago, and by mid-week about half of the department’s fleet of six- and 10-wheel dump trucks had been converted from summer maintenance use to winter snow plowing and de-icing.
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Highways
How ITD is preparing for winter
Maintenance crews in ITD's six districts are making the transition from summer construction and maintenance to winter storm responses. All of the districts have a touch of winter in the past 10 days.
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Transortation Board
Report confirms strong partnership with ISP
A report on the District 3 GARVEE (Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle) construction program in the Treasure Valley last week confirmed for transportation board members the excellent partnership the department enjoys with the Idaho State Police. Construction project funds were awarded to ISP to conduct high-visibility enforcement patrols on Interstate 84.
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Highway Safety
Leaders forging strategy for safer Idaho highways
Idaho’s goal of being the safest transportation system in the country requires strategy, leadership and collaboration. ITD’s Office of Highway Safety (OHS) moved closer to that goal Tuesday, as the Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) emphasis group leaders and OHS grant managers met to prepare for the a Nov. 29 workshop.
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Highway safety
ITD awarded more than $1 million
ITD secured more than $1 million in grants from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to improve safe travel for Idahoans. The Office of Highway Safety received more than $950,000 to apply toward its strategic plan goal of reducing traffic fatalities resulting from individuals driving while impaired.
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Diversity
November commemorates Native American culture
November is Native American Heritage Month, which provides an opportunity to learn more about the first inhabitants of the United States. Without Native American help, the European settlers could not have survived in the harsh conditions of the American wilderness.
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Customer service
Support staff workshop planned Nov. 7
Delivering outstanding customer service isn’t limited to ITD employees who come in direct contact with the public. It extends to those who support those who provide first-hand services. That message will be central to the expanded Support Staff Workshop Nov. 7 in Boise.
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Generous spirit
Generous Girl Scout restores cache of lost cookies
Clyde Charbonneau lost most of his possessions and his home in a wildfire near Twin Falls last summer. The fire also consumed his stockpile of Girl Scout cookies. Charbonneau is an avid supporter of the annual Girl Scout cookie fundraising campaign and regularly invests in the sweet treats.
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Partnerships
ITD helps light way for pedestrians
The city of Bellevue recently installed four solar-powered, lighted crosswalk beacons at Cottonwood and Spruce streets for safe pedestrian crossing of Main Street, which also is state Highway 75. The $20,000 project was funded primarily by federal highway funds through the Safe Routes to School program, and the Bellevue Urban Renewal Agency.
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Accolades
ITD Mailbox
• Assistance invaluable in executing search warrant • Help with functional classification
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Highway speeds
Encore (10-19-12): Working group considers, defers action on speed differential
A special panel of legislators, trucking company representatives and other interested stakeholders met in Boise last week to discuss the variation in speed limits between passenger vehicles and semi-trucks on state highways. The working group, led by Sen. Jim Hammond, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, was evenly divided on the question of eliminating the speed differential.
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Planning
Encore (10-19-12): ITD launches Project Outreach Planner tool
ITD’s innovative Public Outreach Planner (POP) designed to help guide public involvement decisions and outreach efforts, was released this week. The POP is an online, interactive tool that helps employees determine when or if to begin the formal public involvement process and which options to choose.
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Accolades
Encore (10-19-12): Cram receives coveted AASHTO award
ITD’s Mike Cram received national recognition for work on a team that developed a compensation matrix for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (ASSHTO). Cram, a specialist in the Office of Internal Review at ITD, received the Dave Campbell Quality Award (DCQA) from AASHTO’s Administrative Subcommittee on Internal and External Audit at its annual meeting recently.
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Aeronautics
Encore (10-19-12): State agencies discovering value of ITD flight services
State fliers who need direct access to commercial and community airports throughout the state find ITD’s air services a valuable time- and budget-saver. An increasing number of state employees are discovering the benefits of using the service.
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Troubled bridge over waters
Encore (10-19-12): ITD steps in to help repair Elk Meadows Bridge
ITD stepped to the forefront to repair a beleaguered bridge in north-central Idaho that connects residents of a small subdivision to a rural road in Idaho County.
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