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Board considers funding requests, staff reports

Two transportation committees were scheduled to present their priority requests for funding during the Idaho Transportation Board’s monthly meeting today in Idaho Falls.

The Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality (CMAQ) technical review committee and the enhancement advisory committee met recently to review and prioritize their respective project applications. Their recommendations for Fiscal Year 2006 and 2007 funding through the CMAQ and Enhancement programs exceed available funding, as has been the recent trend.

The projects will be included in the draft Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), which will be distributed for public review and comment later this summer. It will go to the board for approval in September.
Other board agenda items:

FY05-08 State Highway Development Program
ITD staff will present the proposed FY05-08 State Highway Development Program to the board for approval. Action on the state program is requested in May so districts can include as many FY05-funded projects in this year’s construction season as possible. Early action also enables districts to initiate consultant design and right-of-way acquisition to ensure on-time delivery of future projects.

The state projects approved at this week’s meeting will be included in the draft STIP that enters the public involvement process in July. State projects are not required to meet all of the public involvement processes required of federal projects, but ITD is committed to providing opportunities for public input and consideration.

ITD anticipates $51 million will be available for the state program in FY05. The program continues ITD’s emphasis on pavement rehabilitation, bridge improvements/replacements, congestion mitigation, and safety projects.

2005 Legislative Agenda
The department’s staff has been contemplating possible legislative proposals for the 2005 session, based in part on issues that surfaced during the 2004 session and partially on direction from the transportation board.

ITD is considering 18 concepts for 2005. The board will provide direction on which of the proposals to forward to the legislature.

The board is meeting in the City Electric Building in Idaho Falls rather than at the District 6 office in Rigby because remodeling has not been completed. When the project is finished, the Rigby office will better accommodate individuals with disabilities and meet standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Before meeting in Idaho Falls today, the board toured part of the district on Thursday. The tour emphasized improvement projects in the U.S. 20 corridor west of Idaho Falls.

Other tour stops included Craters of the Moon National Monument where board members discussed with officials from the Bureau of Land Management plans for the monument and area highways; tours of the Targhee Regional Public Transit Authority facilities in Idaho Falls and a look at the services it provides; and discussions with the Idaho Falls airport manager about aviation issues.

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