December 17, 2010

District 5 introduced a new breed of heavy equipment recently -- a CAT dump truck. A maintenance
worker stationed at the Wayan shed discovered a transient sunning himself on the top of a truck.
A bobcat used the high perch to monitor activities near the shed. (forwarded by Brian Poole)

Board
Report shows increased use of public transportation in District 4
Public transportation partnerships have expanded opportunities for citizens in District 4, a delegation told members of the Idaho Transportation Board last week. Representatives of the district’s Public Transportation Advisory Council gave the report during the regular board meeting at ITD Headquarters in Boise, Dec. 8, 9.
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Accolades
New turn bay design brings recognition to D-3
As part of a U.S. 20 seal coat this summer, District 3 Traffic Engineer Kevin Sablan suggested and designed alterations to the intersection striping plans to essentially use excess space from the shoulders and re-stripe it for turn bays at four problematic intersections. .
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Safety
D-3 launches effort to reduce accidents
Like golf, your ranking on the ITD crash list is one of the places where a lower score is much better. During the last fiscal year, District 3 had 28 injury accidents and 47 vehicular accidents. This fall, an internal team set out to remedy that by creating a district-wide accident reduction committee, headed by district safety/training manager Terry Meiners.
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Highway safety
Holiday patrols targeted for impaired drivers
As the holiday season gets under way with festive parties and celebrations, ITD reminds motorists to make the season safer for everyone by not driving while impaired. Using federal grant funds, the transportation department is partnering with Idaho law enforcement agencies to make highways safer by funding education campaigns and high-visibility impaired driving enforcement patrols from Dec. 17 through New Year's Day.
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Highways
Renovated rest area opens on U.S. 20
From the Idaho Mtn. Express, Ketchum
Those who travel through Timmerman Junction in southern Blaine County can once again take a refresher at the intersection's rest area. After eight months of construction, the rest area at the southwest corner of the intersection of state Highway 75 and U.S. Highway 20 reopened for public use on Monday (Dec. 13).
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Encore
 Published December 10, 2010

Asset management
New system will guide future investments
ITD will introduce a new management tool next week that will redefine the way it plans and tracks pavement and maintenance management activities. The new Transportation Asset Management System (TAMS) will provide a wealth of information on the state highway system and help determine how to apply resources most effectively. Use of the new management system will begin Friday (Dec. 17).
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GARVEE
Board seeks additional $162 million in bonding authority
The Idaho Transportation Board this week requested $162 million in bonding authority for next year to complete construction of highway improvement projects on U.S. 95 and Idaho 16. The bond request is part of the GARVEE Transportation Program approved by the Idaho Legislature. The recommendation will be forwarded to Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter and would have to be approved by the Legislature
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Administration
New 'dashboard' provided glimpse of department performance
ITD’s commitment to transparency took a new visual form this week with the introduction of a database-driven Transportation System Dashboard featured prominently on the department’s website. A new graphic link directs visitors to pages that provide a current snapshot of the department’s primary performance measures. Resembling an automobile speedometer, the graphic depicts the status and desired trend for each of ITD’s performance measures.
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Winter
Yes, there is winter in November
So, what was it like in southeast Idaho during the premature, pre-Thanksgiving storm? Here’s what our colleagues in District 5 (Pocatello area) had to battle ...
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Employees
Personal information needs to be updated
It is that time of year for all employees to do a little “housekeeping”.  Please check your address in the AMS system to make sure we have the correct address for you.  This address will be the address that the State Controller uses to mail out your W-2’s.  It is also the address used by Blue Cross, PERSI, etc.
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