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Maintenance & Operations – Eclipse Prep
The Great American Eclipse hit Idaho Aug. 21, 2017, but preparations by ITD began much earlier. Knowing that Idaho would be one of the prime viewing sites in the entire country, ITD started making preparations for this day early in the year, and our efforts helped defuse a potentially catastrophic effect. Estimates of increased traffic ranged from 500,000 more vehicles on Idaho’s roads, to 2 million or more. Considering Idaho normally has only 1.1 million licensed drivers statewide, those estimates were alarming.

Excellence in Transportation Awards
honors top projects

ITD presented nine Excellence in Transportation awards Jan. 17. Last week, we took a look at the three winners in the "Personnel" categories. This week, we highlight the half-dozen award-winning projects from the past year:

Public Participation – I-15 Construction
ITD and RBCI conducted a comprehensive and grassroots approach to reach local, regional and inter-state stakeholders during construction on a critical 190-mile stretch of Interstate 15 between Utah and Montana.

The team employed a strategic combination of traditional media, innovative electronic technology and one-on-one networking to equip communities and travelers with the information they needed to thrive during this project.

Environmental Stewardship – Big Wood River Bridge
This award celebrates a 2018 AASHTO President’s Award winner.

The new bridge was built with 33-foot-wide,13-foot-tall wildlife passageways at each end of the bridge to facilitate the safe crossing of deer and elk in the area, removing that vehicle-animal conflict.

Construction – Twin Bridges
In south-central Idaho, along Interstate 84 about eight miles east of Burley, two bridges span the vast Snake River to connect Cassia and Minidoka counties. These new bridges are the result of a construction project that replaced two major structures (built in 1960), lengthened the westbound on-ramp at the Declo Interchange, and reconstructed short portions of I-84 to tie into the new bridges and stormwater-retention areas.

Transportation Planning – Moneyball (COMPASS)
This year’s winner in the Transportation Planning category in the Excellence in Transportation Awards is Moneyball for MPOs. It was submitted by COMPASS. COMPASS developed a performance-based planning tool, the Performance Measure Framework, to assist it in prioritizing transportation-investment decisions.

Project Design, Large – 17 Bridges, 1 Contract
In this project, Districts 6, 5 and 4 replaced 17 bridges – each over 50 years old — that did not meet current safety or geometry standards. This AASHTO President’s Transportation Award winner in 2018, saved the department and taxpayers a total of $4.7 million during design, scoping and construction.