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Transportation board to consider enhancement request
for stimulus funding

The Idaho Transportation Board next week will consider a request of nearly $5.5 million in funding for enhancement projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Those enhancement funds are in addition to the $182 million allocated to Idaho for “shovel-ready” highway construction projects and $18.4 million for transit projects.

ITD staff members will ask the board to approve the following enhancement projects for funding:

U.S. 2, Dover Bridge Pathway
U.S. 95, Moscow Passing Lanes Animal Detection
Interstate 84, Ten Mile Interchange Landscaping
Idaho 21 Wildlife Collision Avoidance
U.S. 20, Island Park Wildlife Collision Study
Statewide cur ration of artifacts
Statewide disabilities enhancements on state routes and rest areas

The transportation board will meet at the District 5 office in Pocatello Thursday, beginning at 8:30 a.m. The preceding day, members will travel south to the U.S. 30 corridor to view GARVEE projects; they will begin the district tour with a visit to the Pocatello Airport.

Other board discussion

Special event policy
ITD staff members will provide an overview of the department’s process and policy related to special events on the state highway system. The agenda item was precipitated by a brief discussion at last month’s meeting.

The Twin Falls community is planning Magic Fest later this summer. In conjunction with the festivities, a verbal request was made to allow an “illusionary act” to be staged from the Perrine Bridge on U.S. 93. The special event would require closure of one lane of traffic on the major north-south route for several hours.

A special event, as it relates to the state highway system, includes the following criteria:

Participants intend to proceed or conduct themselves on the highway without complying with the direction of traffic control devices or the rules of the road; or
Special traffic control may be required; or
The closing of a portion of the roadway to the general public may be required; or
The potential exists to interfere with the normal movement of traffic or create a hazard within the right of way; or
An activity occurs outside the travel way but within the highway right of way and involves the use of highway facilities for non-transportation related purposes and could slow, disrupt or interfere with the normal flow of traffic.

When an individual or group seeks to schedule an event within the right of way of the state highway system, it must apply for and obtain a special-event agreement from ITD. If the request is denied, the decision can be appealed to the respective district engineer. If that appeal is upheld at the district level, the applicant has the option of extending the appeal directly to ITD’s chief engineer.

Fiscal Year 2010 out of state travel
The FY-2010 out-of-state travel request will be presented to the board for approval at Thursday’s meeting. The department-wide request totals $249,800. That constitutes a reduction of $131,100 (or 34 percent) from the preliminary FY-2010 request presented to the board last year. The reduction stems from a strategic review by employees to ensure that out-of-state travel plans cover only “mission critical” needs. It reflects the department’s commitment to maximizing efficiency.