Excellence in Transportation Awards honor projects and personnel

The Excellence in Transportation awards were given out Thursday in Boise to kick off the January Idaho Transportation Board meeting. ITD people and projects were awarded in nine categories — Next week we'll feature the "project" winners; this week we highlight the winners in the personnel categories.

Career Achievement – D5 District Engineer Ed Bala (pictured above)
Ed Bala has served his community and the state of Idaho admirably for 35 years, first as a staff engineer starting in 1984, then as an assistant district engineer in eastern Idaho, and as a District Engineer in southeast Idaho since 1998.

In more than three decades as an engineer, Bala has been part of many memorable projects in the region. A notable one is the Chubbock Interchange, the state’s first Diverging Diamond interchange.

The project replaced an existing bridge, provided increased capacity for the current interchange and increased safety. The diverging diamond interchange offers benefits compared to a traditional diamond interchange, the most significant of those being continuous left-turning traffic. Because traffic is crossed over to the opposite side of the bridge, there is no waiting for left turns to get onto the interstate. This eliminated a phase for the signals and reduced the potential for crashes with left-turning traffic.

The DDI was completed ahead of schedule, $2 million under budget, and included several innovations to accommodate large vehicles critical to the local economy, providing increased capacity and improving safety.

More recently, Bala’s office oversaw the South Valley Connector, known as the I-15, Cheyenne Overpass project. The route connects drivers from Bannock Highway to South 5th Avenue in Pocatello, cost more than $16 million, and took years of planning and construction.

The project improved travel options, mobility, and safe access. The route consists of two travel lanes, bicycle lanes and a separated multi-use pathway. Through this investment, ITD officials acquired additional right-of-way for future roadway widening. The city is home to companies that manufacture and sell large equipment and this road allows for its safe transport, as well as convenient access to the industries employing hundreds of highly skilled workers, an important sector of the state’s economy.

Professional of the Year – Randy Gill
Randy Gill’s leadership in project management is critically important — as manager of the Idaho Transportation Improvement Program (ITIP) budget, he plays a “gatekeeper” role for current and future projects representing approximately $2 billion.

Gill began his journey with ITD in 1982. His departmental career includes stops in Roadway Design and Design/Construction, as the budget czar for Division of Engineering Services/Division of Engineering Plans and Products, as Planning Services Manager, and his current role as ITIP Program Manager.

This budget is for construction, right-of-way acquisition, consultant development, utility costs, and more, during a seven-year period. Having projects delivered on time allows better planning and use of transportation dollars, which in turn maximizes mobility and safety to the motoring public, and delivers economic opportunity for Idaho’s growing communities.

Gill earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Science from Boise State University in 1987.

Engineer of the Year – Bruce Christensen
Bruce Christensen is ITD Engineer of the Year for his exemplary performance and ongoing dedication to his field. With an unyielding commitment to safety, Bruce’s projects convey an innovative focus on how to tackle major issues while simultaneously serving the public to the best level possible. Bruce has served as the District 4 Traffic Engineer since he began at ITD 18 years ago.

He has conducted research with the University of Utah, done side-by-side testing of traffic, and is a member of the Research Advisory Board for the National Institute for Advancement of Traffic Technology (NIATT), and has been a member of the Idaho Chapter of Institute of Transportation Engineers in various roles, including president and vice president.

Christensen is the current team leader of the department's HILT Statewide Traffic Team.

Although he is a Traffic Engineer, he has expereience in design, construction and maintenance.

Published 01-18-19