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Idaho Transportation
Department

Office of Communications
P.O. Box 7129
Boise, ID 83707
208.334.8005
Fax: 208.334.8563
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2-29-08

Winter triumphs
Success measured in crashes prevented
Success often can be measured in multiple ways. In winter highway maintenance it can be judged by what you accomplish and what you prevent. That was a conclusion by a traveler who assessed ITD’s performance during a journey on Interstate 15 during one of the most challenging periods of winter.
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Transportation Board
Group explains efforts to expand pilot project
The Idaho Legislature, in 2003, approved a pilot project allowing trucks with a gross vehicle weight of up to 129,00 pounds on specified state highways. It is a 10-year project that calls for ITD to submit periodical reports on the impacts of the increased weights. Because the Idaho Legislature does not have authority on Interstate routes, the Right Truck for Idaho Coalition was formed to seek Congressional authority to expand the pilot project to select interstates.
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Accolades
Rainbow Bridge renovation received international honor
Recognizing the slow but steady assault nature was exacting on the structure, ITD began a major Rainbow Bridge makeover project in 2006. Although work on the arch piers, floor beams, deck joints and columns took place outside the view of the motoring public, someone was paying close attention. The International Concrete Repair Institute chose the Rainbow Bridge facelift as its 2007 Project of the year. 
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U.S. 95 Setters to Bellgrove garners engineering award
A 7.5-mile highway reconstruction/realignment project that significantly improves safety for travelers on U.S. 95 in northern Idaho was selected recently for a national engineering award. The American Council of Engineering Companies awarded National Finalist status to the U.S. 95 Setters to Bellgrove project that added new lanes, eliminated hazardous curves, replaced aging bridges and realigned portions of the highway.
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Highways
Elected officials, media to tour I-84 corridor
An informational bus tour will showcase several construction projects planned on Interstate 84 in Nampa and Meridian as part of the state’s GARVEE Program. The tour will be Tuesday from 12:45 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. Lawmakers, local elected officials and media representatives will participate in the tour. Senate Transportation Committee Chairman John McGee of Caldwell will lead a delegation of the committee.
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Yellowstone
Groups develop regional off-season strategy for Yellowstone/Teton
A year-long effort funded through the Yellowstone Business Partnership (YBP) kicked off Thursday (Feb. 28) in six sub-regions to press social, economic, and natural assets into service for year-round economic activity at Yellowstone National Park. Workshop sites in Bozeman, Billings, Lander, Jackson, Pocatello and Idaho Falls were connected by video conference, unifying the Greater Yellowstone region as it tackles common socioeconomic and transportation challenges.
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Aeronautics
Airstrip network to sign agreement Tuesday
A group working to position the Idaho Airstrip Network as an important component of the state’s future transportation system while respecting and protecting Idaho’s natural and recreational resources will take a major step toward implementing an action plan. Members of the Idaho Airstrip Network Steering Committee will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the Oxford Suites in Boise on Tuesday. The document will ensure that all participants will cooperate with the implementation of the airstrip network action plan.
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Drill helps division prepare for aviation emergencies
Staff from the Division of Aeronautics hovered over maps and tables in what resembled a war room Friday (Feb. 22), looking for the location of a lost aircraft. . They focused on an area between Banks and McCall. The object of their scrutiny – the state-owned Cessna 206 single-engine plane – never crashed; indeed it was never missing.  The mock search-and-rescue effort was a training exercise for Aeronautics personnel and representatives of the department’s Communications Office.
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ITD Mailbox
• Assistance helps in arrest, truck recovery
• Cooperation saves Marshals Service expenses
• “Blown away’ by service

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Published previously

Transportation funding

Tough economy not good reason for procrastinating
There’s been lots of talk lately about our cooling economy and its impact on the state budget. Some legislators are even talking about delaying a serious investment in addressing our mounting backlog of highway work. “Too expensive,” they say. “Better wait ‘til times get better.”
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Greenhouse Gas reduction
Group completes action plan, forwards to DEQ
ITD employees commuting to and from work contribute an estimated 3,468 tons of carbon dioxide to the earth’s atmosphere annually, according to a greenhouse gas report submitted to the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. The 2008-09 Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Action Plan was created in response to an executive order issued by Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter last May.
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Alternative work schedule could cut emissions
ITD may consider expanding options for alternative commuting times and work schedules as part of its Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Action Plan – as long as altered schedules do not negatively impact the department’s commitment to customer service.
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Winter
Marooned motorists find shelter amidst a storm
No one expected the 700 to 800 motorists stranded last weekend in Swan Valley to be happy campers! Blowing and drifting snow closed U.S. 26 between Swan Valley and Ririe just after lunch on Thursday, Feb. 7, and the severe conditions persisted for two days. Traffic backed up more than a mile – both on U.S. 26 and on Idaho 31, which intersects U.S. 26 in Swan Valley – unable to proceed until Saturday afternoon.
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Open and shut case: Crews battled to keep highways clear
If you think it’s been difficult to travel from point A to point B during the relentless waves of winter early this month, there’s good reason. All six of ITD’s districts reported at least one closure and one highway in District 6 was closed nine times.
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Survey says...
Drivers provide input about I-84 conditions
Responses to a telephone survey conducted Jan. 17-20 by Elway Research, Inc. will serve as a benchmark by which ITD and motorists will judge the outcome of a $113 million improvement and expansion project for the heavily traveled 6.2-mile Interstate 84 corridor from Garrity (Nampa) to Meridian interchanges.
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Employees
HRS urges employees to ensure beneficiaries are up to date

Life changes. Have you kept up? Changes could affect beneficiaries of the life insurance and supplemental life insurance policies offered as part of ITD employment, supplemental life insurance through the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS) and survivor benefits through the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho (PERSI).
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