Category: Inside ITD

The Idaho Transportation Board unanimously passed a resolution today (Wednesday, Oct. 16) authorizing staff to proceed with the final bond sale for the Transportation Expansion and Congestion Mitigation (TECM) bonding program at its monthly meeting in Boise.

The final bond sale will provide approximately $350 million to fully utilize $80 million in debt service from the TECM fund, which will be used on the following list of eligible construction projects:

• I-90, SH-41 to US-95 between Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene
• SH-16, I-84/16 System Interchange, Franklin Interchange and SH-44 Interchange in Ada and Canyon Counties
• SH-55, Farmway to Middleton Road west of Nampa
• I-84, Burley and Heyburn Interchanges
• I-15, Pocatello to Fort Hall
• SH-75, McKercher to Broadway Run north of Hailey (depending on available funds)

The TECM fund was established by the Idaho Legislature as part of Governor Brad Little’s Leading Idaho initiative to make investments in critical state infrastructure. It is anticipated that the TECM direct-pay and funds from bond sales will yield up to $1.6 billion in road construction projects over the life of the program, of which bond proceeds are just over $1.3 billion.

The Idaho Transportation Department has issued three previous TECM bond series to accelerate construction projects and make critical transportation improvements that would otherwise take many years to finance. Some of the first projects are nearing completion and will reduce congestion, improve safety, and modernize aging roads and bridges in crucial corridors across Idaho.

This final bond sale of the current TECM authorization is anticipated to be sold in early 2025, in partnership with the Idaho House and Finance Association.

These TECM projects, along with strong partnerships with construction contractors, have enabled ITD to implement projects quickly, allowing citizens to benefit from the improvements resulting in significant time and money savings. The bonds have earned high ratings by the two major rating services, Fitch and Moody’s, and the funds have benefited from favorable interest rates.

“Idahoans can see the historic investment in transportation from the Legislature and Governor across the state as many significant and much-needed expansion and congestion mitigation projects are progressing toward completion,” Idaho Transportation Board Chairman Bill Moad said. “These projects will enhance safety and bring relief for those using the selected corridors.”

TECM construction projects currently underway that have been bond-funded include:

• I-86/I-15 System Interchange in Pocatello/Chubbuck
• I-90/SH-41 Interchange in Post Falls
• US-20/26, I-84 to Middleton Road in Caldwell
• US-20, South St. Anthony Interchange
• I-84, Jerome to Twin Falls
• SH-16, I-84 to US-20/26 in Ada and Canyon Counties
• I-84, Burley and Heyburn Interchanges
• I-84, Centennial Way to Franklin Road in Caldwell
• SH-55, Farmway to Middleton Road west of Nampa

This program has advanced projects and provided statewide benefits to Idaho road users; however, there are still many more corridors that need to be addressed in the future.

Additional information on projects funded by Leading Idaho and TECM is available at www.itd.idaho.gov/funding.

The FY24 Best of the Best ceremony held September 30 in Boise and livestreamed for the first time ever, showcased not only this year’s best innovations, but also paid tribute to the decade-long history of the innovation program at ITD, rolled out in the spring of 2014 to harness the great ideas of tremendous employees across the state. ITD innovation has resulted in $61M in savings and efficiencies to be re-applied to needed road and bridge projects statewide, and nearly 670,000 hours of savings over the last decade, benefiting road users and customers in the Gem State.

Innovation makes our work safer, improves processes, and saves time and money.  More than 1,500 of the 3,200 ideas over the last decade have been implemented. This not only saves time and money for the department, but also translate into significant improvements for our customers.

“Innovate ITD! has created a space where every voice matters, every idea is valued, and everyone can make a difference,” said ITD Chief Innovation Officer Brenda Williams. “Congratulations to all the nominees and winners of the Best of the Best. Every innovation represents hours of hard work, collaboration, and determination. I am so proud of all the ITD employees and their innovative spirit. Innovation….it is who we are.”

Along with the awards ceremony honoring this year’s winners, the ceremony gave a look back at some highlights along the way, like the Bud Bar in 2017, the evolution of the S.N.O.W. (Safely Navigating Our Winters) safe-driving program, and many others. Check out the compilation video. 

A special Decade of Excellence award was also given in recognition of 675 ideas and innovations submitted by DMV, each of which saves time and money at county offices statewide. Check out the video tribute to DMV. 

The winners were also announced for this year.

The first winner was in the Customer Service category, where the DMV is again going above and beyond for disabled military veterans by automatically renewing their vehicle registrations. This innovation reduces the number of phone calls from confused customers. Who were previously required to go into the physical DMV office. There are 3,500 disabled veteran plates in Idaho, so automatically renewing their registrations saves the customers a trip to the DMV and around 1,500 hours of estimated time each year.

Next is the Ideal Workplace category, where the winner was the ICONIC Youth Program, an extension of the ICONIC workforce training program geared for adults in the transportation and construction trades. Ty Winther and Jessika Doglietto spearheaded this program for youths and young adults, which gives free training on a front-end loader, skid loader and excavator to selected students, who also walk away with their OSHA 10-hour entry program and first aid certifications.

The next winner, in the Mobility & Economic Opportunity category, garnered the most votes of any innovation this year. This People’s Choice winner came from Tom Logan in south central Idaho. Temporary steel barriers are a fraction of the weight and take a fraction of the time to set up in construction areas. In fact, crews were able to set 5,000 feet of steel barriers in one night, something that would have taken up to two weeks with concrete. Since they are lightweight, they use two pins every 30 feet to prevent them from moving.

The next category is Resource Stewardship. The winner was an innovation out of north-central Idaho, addressing salt that bounced away off the road when distributed by one of our trucks in motion. Salt was scattering off of the spinner and bouncing off the rubber flaps of the sander chute, causing a significant portion to get lost in the ditch. Add in strong winds, and you’re looking at additional material not making it to the roadway surface. Adam Ott constructed a simple Salt Wrangler to address this problem, then did a comparison between trucks with and without it during application. The results were impressive.

The final winner, in the Safety category, was a stark reminder that every vote counts! The winner, by the razor-thin margin of 192 to 191, was an innovation from Chris Higginbotham in the North Idaho office. ITD needed to come up with a better way to assess and execute plans for hazard tree removal along state highway right of ways. Utilizing LIDAR tree data from the statewide inventory including height and proximity to the pavement, Higginbotham was able to import that dataset into IPLAN and cross reference it against parcel ownership data across the state. The result is a comprehensive mapping program for hazard trees.

Check out the FY24 Best of the Best recap.

The largest group of competitors ever (about 330) at the Snow & Ice Conference and National Snow Roadeo couldn’t slow down the ITD maintenance team, which won the national “Top Agency” title for the third time in the last four years on September 25! This year, ITD took six competitors to the event – (Pictured below, L to R: TJ Gibson, Sheldon Jones, Jed Gregersen, Dakota Morgan, Jed Henderson and Brandon Steffens).

This year, ITD also had the first individual champion (Gibson in Loader) since Jarrett Porter did it in the same event back in 2001. In fact, ITD swept the top three places in the Loader event, with Morgan taking the runner-up slot and Gregerson finishing 3rd.

The duo of Steffens and Gregerson also won this year’s Single Axle Snowplow team event, while Steffens was 2nd in Skid Steer. The team of Gibson and Henderson came in 2nd in Snowplow Tandem Axle.

Henderson and Steffens have been members of all three national title-winning teams.

“In Idaho, our first priority is work zone safety, and by being the best in maintenance equipment safety operations we minimize time in work zones for employees and the traveling public,” emphasized ITD Chief Deputy Director Dan McElhinney. “ITD is very proud of our 6-member team for winning the 2024 National Maintenance Safety Equipment Rodeo last week in Colorado, proving our commitment to be the best of the best in the nation, which we have been now 3 of the last 4 years!”

Several team members also had very positive things to say about the experience:

ITD would also like to thank Kelley Dick and Alan Huey for their leadership with the district, state and national roadeo events!

In addition to another team title, the ITD squad delivered top finishes in various events as mentioned earlier. The ITD contingent has performed well over the years in Colorado, with 50 Top 10 finishes on various pieces of equipment

Two of ITD’s research projects were recently selected by AASHTO as High Value Research winners in a competition among state DOTs across the nation. The first project, “Bees and Butterflies in Roadside Habitats” assessed pollinator diversity along Idaho’s roadsides, focusing on areas critical for monarch butterflies. The second project, “Experimental Validation of Repair Methods for Earthquake-Damaged Bridges Incorporating ITD’s Precast Pier System” focused initially on developing a precast pier system to improve the seismic resilience of bridges in Idaho. That led to a study investigating the use of Ultra-High-Performance Concrete for repairing earthquake-damaged piers, which showed promising results in restoring structural integrity.

The AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) High Value Research competition recognizes outstanding transportation research that demonstrates significant value and impact. These awards celebrate projects that address pressing issues in transportation, from improving infrastructure resilience to enhancing resource conservation. The winning projects were recognized at the AASHTO Research Advisory Committee meeting in Columbus, Ohio on July 22.

ITD Research Program Manager Ned Parrish and Senior Research Analyst Amanda Laib represented ITD and accepted the awards on behalf of the department. Amanda is pictured above center, with certificate. Winning projects from Wyoming, Colorado and Texas DOTs are also shown. The ITD projects will also be presented at a special poster session at the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., in January 2025.

The recognition of these projects by AASHTO underscores ITD’s dedication to advancing transportation infrastructure. These innovative research outcomes not only enhance infrastructure resilience and resource conservation but also reflects ITD’s standing as a leader in innovative transportation solutions.

ITD Roadside Program Manager Cathy Ford led the pollinator project. Researchers at Montana State University surveyed various roadside habitats, identifying patterns that support pollinator health. The study found that smaller highways and sagebrush-bordered roadsides had a higher incidence of bee and butterfly species. The project also mapped essential milkweed patches and recommended management strategies to enhance pollinator habitats. These recommendations are being integrated into ITD’s operational practices to support conservation efforts and avoid regulatory complications.

Highways Development Division Administrator and State Bridge Engineer Mike Johnson managed the earthquake-damaged bridge project. Extensive testing at Idaho State University showed the new system’s superior performance compared to traditional methods. This research led to the implementation of the precast pier system in the Interstate 15 Fort Hall Interchange, significantly reducing construction time and minimizing traffic disruptions.