Category: Safety

The first of several projects to add a center left turn lane to most of State Highway 53 from the Washington state line to Rathdrum begins next week.

“SH-53 serves more than 12,000 vehicles a day, including many drivers who commute between Washington and Idaho,” Project Manager Megan Koski said.

Work over the next two years will focus on a two-mile stretch starting near McGuire Road and continuing through Bruss Road, with additional safety improvements included at the Hauser Laker Road intersection. Two lanes will remain open through construction, but starting Monday, Aug. 22, speed limits will be reduced.

“The goal of this project and future ones is to make the highway safer by providing turn lanes for drivers,” Koski said. “Drivers won’t have to be worried about being rear-ended as they wait to turn left off the highway.”

Right turn lanes and lighting will be installed at the intersections of McGuire Road, North Church Road, Bruss Road and Hauser Lake Road. An acceleration lane at Cloverleaf Road will help drivers get up to speed and merge with eastbound traffic.

“This year, crews will add temporary pavement to the south so that we can maintain traffic as we build the base for the expanded road on the north side of the highway,” Koski said. “Then next spring we’ll pave over that base and open the new lane to traffic.”

Other similar projects are scheduled near Rathdrum in 2023 and state line in 2027. A maintenance project in late September will resurface patches within the first two miles near the state line at night to keep it in acceptable conditions until the 2027 project.

Since this project overlaps with future plans to build an interchange at Pleasant View Road in 2028, minimal improvements will be constructed near the intersections of Pleasant View Road and Hauser Lake Road at this time.

The department plans to fund a project at the next opportunity to build similar improvements to the four miles between Bruss Road and Latah Street.

Drivers are encouraged to check live traffic conditions at 511.idaho.gov.

POCATELLO – At the Transportation Board Meeting held in Pocatello today the Idaho Transportation Department presented their “Zero Fatality” award to Franklin County and Power County.

ITD recognizes communities along with state and local law enforcement that have logged zero highway fatalities for the year. Representatives from Franklin County Sherriff’s office, Power County Sheriff’s office, Idaho State Police, and ITD employees who work in those counties were on-hand to receive the awards.

ITD is committed to working toward the goal of zero fatalities and the efforts by counties to work toward that goal deserve to be recognized.

As ITD moves into the construction season motorists are encouraged to drive safely to protect themselves, other motorists, and the crews building and repairing Idaho’s roads.

 

National Work Zone Awareness Week is April 11-15

IDAHO – National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) will be observed April 11-15 with this year’s theme of “Work Zones are a Sign to Slow Down.” The Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) is asking motorists to observe NWZAW and prepare to safely drive through work zones across Idaho.

As part of NWZAW, Idahoans are encouraged

to participate in Go Orange Day on April 13 by wearing orange as a visual reminder of work zones. Photos can be posted on social media using the hashtags #NWZAW and #GoOrange4Safety.

The awareness week ends with a moment of silence on April 15 for people killed in work zone incidents.

Statistics from the National Work Zone Safety

Information Clearinghouse demonstrate the importance of work zone safety and participating in NWZAW to spread the message that everyone has a role in getting roadway workers home safely.

• There were 762 fatal crashes in work zones resulting in 842 deaths in 2019.
• Of the 842 fatalities in 2019, 135 were roadway workers.
• Most people killed in work zones were motorists, passengers, and pedestrians.

NWZAW has been observed for more than 20 years and was launched as a public awareness campaign to help everyone understand they play a role in keeping motorists and roadway workers safe.

As construction season kicks off around the state, it’s important for drivers to remember that work zones come in all shapes and sizes. They can be long or short duration and can occur anywhere, from the middle of a large city to even the most rural routes. ITD encourages all motorists to plan ahead, follow signs, and drive engaged each time they get behind the wheel.

To learn more about NWZAW, visit nwzaw.org.

This National Work Zone Awareness Week, ITD would like to remind drivers how to be safe in work zones.

Work zones aren’t just limited to the primary construction season – they can pop up at moment’s notice and times you wouldn’t expect to see them.

That was the case on January 15 when D1 operator Jed Henderson was dispatched to I-90 near Kellogg to fill in potholes.

“It was early evening and in the winter, so it was still dark out. The potholes were about 8 inches deep, and we needed to fix them,” Henderson said.

They were so deep that Henderson brought the mix to the site in the bucket of the loader so he could shovel it into the holes.

Ten minutes later and Henderson was cleaning up material on the shoulder when a driver blew past other equipment and ran into one of the tires on the loader.

The car then went sideways and was impacted by another car.

“We were lucky no one was hurt,” Henderson said. “Just minutes before we had been standing in that spot.”

Strapped in the seat of a 55,000-pound loader, Henderson said he barely felt the collision – but it has changed how he approaches the job.

“You spend every week working next to 70 mph traffic and you almost get used to it,” Henderson said. “You think it won’t happen to you and then it does.”

Idaho State Police investigated the incident and cited the driver for driving under the influence, which as a first-time offense is a misdemeanor with a penalty of a $1,000 fine and a one-year license suspension.

Late on Saturday, Jan. 22, a slide occurred just north of Smiths Ferry on Idaho State Highway 55. This slide was in a different section than the previous slide that occurred last fall and was much smaller in scale. We were able to reopen the road less than two days later.

However, the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) understands the impacts these closures cause the communities that are dependent on SH-55 being open and operational. While this slide was smaller and allowed crews to clear the road of snow and debris quickly, we had a responsibility to bring in experts to ensure the hillside was stable before we could fully reopen the road. Our team takes these measures out of an extreme abundance of caution because your safety is always our top priority.

Idaho is a unique state; there are only a few major highways that run north/south through our state, which means we are dependent on smaller, mountain highways. We understand SH-55 is such a crucial and high-traffic thoroughfare and is vitally important to the communities of Smiths Ferry, Donnelly, Cascade, McCall and more. We know we have an obligation to be transparent with communities in that area, travelers driving on the road, and the wider public in Idaho.

Our crews worked diligently winterizing the road last year however, there were recommended steps that were not able to be completed prior to shutting down construction. There were plans to drill and insert rods (which can be anywhere from about 10 to 30 feet long) to secure the area where the most recent slide occurred. Part of that process requires grout to be applied to secure those rods, which stabilize the rock on the hillside. When the temperatures get to a certain level, it is impossible for that grout to properly set, so the decision was made to create a buttress in that area because there was a large catchment area surrounding this section of hillside. Knowing the hillside was not fully stabilized, a catchment area and buttress was constructed, ultimately doing its job by containing 99% of the falling rock.

It is important for you to know these areas where slides occurred were still in process of completion. During the next few months, ITD is going to take another look at planned designs for securing these hillsides and put them through another geotechnical review to decide if there are other ideas we can bring to the table to further reinforce these slopes.

We sincerely appreciate the public’s patience and grace throughout this project. ITD’s mission statement is “your safety, your mobility and your economic opportunity.” The statement starts with safety because that is our top priority. We hear your concerns. We take them seriously. We will do whatever we can to keep you and your family, and your communities safe as we work toward completing this project this fall. If anyone has any additional questions, please reach out to the project team at info@ID55smithsferry.com.