ITD seeks comment next Thursday for the redesign of the I-90/ID-41 interchange

Aerial view of the current I-90/ID-41 interchange.

The Idaho Transportation Department invites the public to view and comment on proposed alternatives for the redesign of the Interstate 90 and Idaho Highway 41 interchange at an open house next Thursday, November 8.

Members of the public may arrive at any time between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Post Falls Police Department.

ITD organized a value planning process to bring together multiple stakeholders—including representatives from the city of Post Falls, Kootenai County and the Federal Highway Administration—to develop and evaluate designs to improve safety and mobility at this intersection. Of the nine alternatives ultimately proposed by the team, two were selected to be presented for public comment at this meeting.

Those unable to attend may visit the project website to learn more and to comment. Comments will be accepted between November 8 and November 27.

Overnight ramp closures scheduled at Franklin, Northside interchanges in Nampa next week

The westbound on-ramps at the Franklin and Northside interchanges will be closed on several occasions next week while the Idaho Transportation Department rebuilds the interstate shoulders near the ramp.

The westbound I-84 on-ramp at Franklin Boulevard will be closed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 5 and Tuesday, Nov. 6. Motorists can use the ramps at the Garrity and Northside interchanges during the overnight closures.

The westbound on-ramp closure at Northside Boulevard will occur from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 8. Motorists will be directed to use the ramps at the Franklin and Karcher interchanges during the overnight closure.

ITD is widening the I-84 shoulders between the Karcher Road and Franklin Boulevard interchanges this fall in preparation for major construction next spring. Download the project fact sheet for details.

“By moving swiftly to prepare the shoulders this fall, we will be positioned to start the expansion work next year,” said ITD Program Manager Amy Schroeder. “This is the first step of the $330 million investment in I-84 in Canyon County over the next several years. The expansion is a statewide priority to improve safety, mobility and economic opportunity.”

To request email updates about construction activities, text 84CORRIDOR to 22828. For more information on the I-84 expansion project, visit itdprojects.org/i-84-karcher-to-franklin.

Top ITD innovations of 2018 focused on safety, savings, and service

Innovate ITD!, in its fifth year, has so far saved Idaho taxpayers more than $8.5 million in efficiencies that are applied directly back into maintenance and repair of the state’s roads and bridges. Along the way, more than 550 of the innovations have improved customer service, and hundreds more have enhanced mobility or directly impacted safety for highway workers and the traveling public.

ITD’s innovation effort is statewide, employee-driven, and is focused on finding safer, easier and less expensive solutions. It has become a model nationally for organizations looking to get better.

The 2018 Best of the Best competition spotlights innovations in each of seven categories central to the department’s main goals: safety, mobility, economic opportunity, customer service, employee development, time savings and cost savings.

“It is exciting to celebrate employee efforts to make things safer and better,” said ITD Chief Administrative Officer Charlene McArthur. “Recognizing and celebrating the spirit of innovation that exists in every ITD employee is what Innovate ITD! is all about.”

“The Best of the Best Winners were selected by employees as outstanding representations of innovations and innovators from throughout ITD.”

Since the program began in 2014, ITD has:

• Received 1,428 ideas from employees
• Implemented 951 innovations
• Generated savings and efficiency improvements of $8.5 million*
• Realized 188,322 contractor and employee hours saved
• Created 551 customer-service improvements

* The savings in time and money are being used to maintain roads and bridges and provide better customer service.

Here are the seven category winners in ITD’s Best of the Best 2018:

In Safety, a hand injury sustained by a worker in another region by reaching into a tailgate to wrestle a rock loose inspired a crew in District 2 to solve a common problem. Bud Converse, Moscow Foreman, went to his crew with a possible solution. Within a few hours they’d welded a pipe to the truck, painted it and placed a bar in the pipe. The aptly named “Bud Bar” is within easy reach of the back of the truck. It is used like a crowbar to wedge open an obstructed tailgate without endangering anyone.

In Mobility, the state’s first double Flashing Yellow Arrow traffic signal helps move traffic through one of the busiest intersections in Coeur d’Alene. The new double FYA signal allows two lanes of traffic to turn left after yielding to oncoming vehicles and pedestrians. The signal more quickly gets passenger vehicles on their way and commercial haulers to market with goods and services.

When bridges are hit by an over-height vehicle, a road can be closed for months, costing taxpayers millions. In the Economic Opportunity category, an innovation was developed to combat this. The minimum bridge heights are measured by bridge inspectors and this information is communicated to the permitting department in an easy-to-follow Google map. They can see which bridges trucks can safely pass under, increasing safety, and saving time by reducing bridge closures.

In the Customer Service category, improvements to the 511 Traveler Services platform will allow drivers to track weather conditions on certain highway routes. ITD partnered with the National Weather Service in Pocatello to add a forecast feature. The platform takes specific forecast information from areas along a section of highway, and creates an overall forecast for that route. This gets useful information to the traveling public, at their fingertips.

The Time Savings winner is an innovative new plow-blade changing cart. In a bad winter, blades have to swapped out up to five times per month. This idea will minimize the old back-breaking method of changing and installing blades by hand. The cart serves as the holder during these operations. They go on easier, and more safely allows crews to get plow trucks on the road more quickly.

In Cost Savings, teamwork saved millions of dollars. District 6, 5 and 4 combined 17 bridge repairs under one contract. This allowed ITD to shave nearly 20 years off the timeline for replacing these bridges, saved about $1.7 million in design costs, and another $3 million off construction. The 6-5-4 project won the 2018 AASHTO President’s Award for Planning. Each of the bridges is over 50 years old, and all will be brought up to current design standards and will be wider & longer.

In the Employee Development category,, new employee onboarding focuses on retaining good employees. Approximately 25% of ITD’s employees started with the department in the last two years. Employee orientation generally takes place on Day One and often includes only routine paperwork. Onboarding, though, is an experience that lasts through the employee’s first 6-18 months.

For new employees, introducing them to the “ITD way” early in the process and allowing them to take ownership of their job is another step in ITD’s mission of being the best transportation department in the country.

And there you have it – this year’s Best of the Best, combining safety, ingenuity and efficiency!

Watch the 2018 Best of the Best video.

Remembering the Goff Bridge challenge 20 years later

Nearly twenty years later, the Goff Bridge—better known as the Time Zone Bridge near Riggins—remains one of a few tied-arch bridges in Idaho.*

But its unusual design is not the only thing that makes it unique.

The distinctive bridge stands out due to the dedication of several ITD engineers who oversaw its successful replacement, which began in 1996 and lasted until 1999.

At that time, Dave Kuisti was not yet the district engineer but was graduating from ITD’s Engineering in Training Program.

“I moved to the maintenance yard at Lucile for more than two years to be the project engineer,” Kuisti said. “My wife wasn’t particularly thrilled about the location.”

Located on US-95, the Goff Bridge would be a challenge to replace. The structure, built in 1935, spanned the Salmon River and served 2,000 vehicles per day, as well as 12 river outfitters in nearby Riggins.

The new structure would have to withstand consistent pressure from a slow landslide at its south end, be tall enough to stay above high water and wide enough to accommodate two trucks crossing at once.

To maintain mobility for the traveling public on the state’s primary north-south route during the construction of this three-year project, the design and construction teams planned to temporarily relocate the original structure to serve as the detour. It was the best option given the absence of an alternative route and the close confines of the canyon.

Hydraulic jacks and an estimated 72 hours would be required to move the 1.24 million-pound steel bridge to its new location 65 feet to the west. At that time US-95 would be completely closed to traffic through Riggins, prompting ITD to stipulate stricter penalties should contractor Harcon Inc. cause additional delays.

A 1996 Spokesman-Review article quoted Kuisti as saying that he felt “pretty confident” that the structure would not fall into the river. In a follow up article in 1997, public affairs specialist Ralph Poore mentioned the engineers’ eagerness to transition to the next phase of the project and described the construction challenge as “the kind of thing that makes and breaks careers.”

To advertise the closure, ITD placed notices all over the state, and even out of the state in Lolo, Montana, which sits on US-12 just across the state line. In the end, US-95 was reopened 36 hours ahead of schedule.

Watch a video of the relocation.

Robert Gordon, the lead inspector involved with surveying the area for the relocation of the bridge, said he was relieved when it went as smoothly as it did.

“It was a very critical move,” Gordon said. “If anything went wrong, the state was basically cut in two and would require a 500-mile detour to get from South Idaho to North Idaho.”

“It was not without its own tribulations,” Kuisti said. “In the end though, we got a pretty amazing structure that will be there long after I’m gone.”

According to its latest inspection, the Goff Bridge will likely last another thirty to fifty years.

*The Goff Bridge was the only tied-arch bridge in the state until the Shoup Bridge over the Salmon River was built last year south of Salmon.

DMV to offer mail-in renewals for driver’s licenses that expire in November and December

BOISE — In an effort to alleviate long lines in county Division of Motor Vehicle driver’s licensing offices, the Idaho Transportation Department will provide citizens with licenses that expire in November and December an option to renew driver’s licenses and identification cards by mail.

ITD has been exploring potential solutions to assist county DMV offices after vendor technological issues forced statewide driver’s license offices to close for nearly a week in August. Offices reopened in late August, but long lines of customers seeking driver’s license services continue in many counties.

The DMV will send all citizens with licenses expiring in November and December a form so they can opt to renew by mail, instead of going to physical offices. Mail-in renewals also will be available in county offices that process and provide driver’s license services. ITD will track the number of mail-in renewals and work with the Idaho Sheriffs’ Association to decide whether or not there’s a need to extend this process past the end of the year.

“This system failure has at no time been the responsibility or fault of our County Sheriffs and their staff, said Idaho Sheriffs Association President Kieran Donahue. “The combination of vendor software failures and upgrades to other software have not been able to achieve what either the Sheriffs or ITD would have expected for a system which supplies such vital service to the citizens of the state. We are hopeful the mail-in renewal process will help take some pressure off the system and our citizens while the state works on remedying the situation by exploring other long-term solutions.”

Since an ITD interim solution was implemented after that multi-day outage, the system is stable. Transaction times however have been slower, contributing to longer lines in some offices.

“ITD appreciates our county sheriffs and staff that have been working tirelessly to assist customers that have been unable to receive a license due to late-summer system issues,” said ITD DMV Division Administrator Alberto Gonzalez. “In the future, the DMV plans to offer an online customer portal that provides self-service functions for various licensing needs. Currently, ITD is eager to provide this mail-in renewal option effective this week.”

There are some specifics associated with the mail-in driver’s license renewal process. Some highlights include:

Only licenses that expire in November and December 2018 are available for mail-in renewal.
The Star Card, Idaho’s Real ID, will NOT be available by mail. Citizens seeking the Star Card must present required documents in person at DMV offices to meet federal requirements. For a full list of items that are accepted to obtain the Star Card visit, itd.idaho.gov/starcard.
Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) holders cannot renew by mail.
Only U.S. citizens and permanent residents are eligible to renew by mail.
Drivers between the ages of 21 to 69 years of age are eligible to renew by mail.

ITD, the Sheriffs’ Association and Governor C.L “Butch” Otter’s office are working closely in partnership with each other on permanent, long-term solutions to DMV licensing issues.
It’s important to note that County assessor’s offices that issue vehicle registrations and titles are not experiencing long lines or delays.

For more information, citizens are encouraged to call the ITD DMV Customer Care Center at 208.334.8736.
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Overnight detours in Nampa’s Karcher Interchange for sign placement week of Oct. 22

BOISE— Segments of the Interstate 84 Karcher Interchange in Nampa will be closed overnight Oct. 23 and 24 as crews install new overhead signs.

Detours will be in place during construction.

On Tues., Oct. 23, the Midland Blvd. bridge over I-84 will be closed at 8 p.m. and will reopen to traffic Wed., Oct. 24 at 5 a.m. Crews will be installing a new overhead sign structure. Pedestrians will need to use an alternative route while the structure is installed.
On Wed., Oct. 24, the Exit 33 loop ramp and on-ramp to I-84 will be closed at 8 p.m. and will reopen to traffic the next morning at 5 a.m. Crews will be installing a new overhead sign structure.

Reconstruction of the interchange will be complete in early November and is designed to improve traffic flow and safety in this highly traveled area. Project improvements include:

*Adding a second southbound lane to Midland Blvd.
*Adding a second left turn lane from the Karcher Bypass to southbound Midland Blvd.
*Upgrading sidewalks and traffic signals
*Permanently removing the westbound off-ramp (Exit 33B)

The I-84 corridor in Nampa is a very active construction zone with multiple projects occurring in the same vicinity. ITD encourages drivers to slow down, pay attention, and give construction crews space to safely work.

The Exit 33B westbound ramp on the Interstate 84 Karcher Interchange in Nampa will be permanently removed Monday, Oct. 15. Crews will remove the ramp beginning at 8 p.m. Monday and work will be complete by 5 a.m. Tuesday.

Moving forward, all westbound traffic will use the loop ramp, which will be referred to as Exit 33. Signs in the area will reflect the change.

Reconstruction of the interchange is on schedule to be complete by the first week of November. Project improvements include:

*Adding a second southbound lane to Midland Blvd.
*Adding a second left turn lane from the Karcher Bypass to southbound Midland Blvd.
*Upgrading sidewalks and traffic signals.

The project is jointly funded by the city of Nampa and ITD. Central Paving is the contractor.

ITD’s Hinen assists in saving lives in aviation search and rescue

On Aug. 17, the quick thinking and decisive action of Division of Aeronautics Search-and-Rescue Coordinator Jim Hinen resulted in two lives being saved. Hinen was responding to a near-fatal crash near the Middle Fork of the Salmon River.

Bill Sperling and his friend, Tom, crashed around midday in the heavily wooded area northeast of McCall as they flew out after breakfast that morning at the Flying B Ranch. A second plane, flying nearby, said he saw Sperling’s Cessna 182 try to climb out of the canyon, struggle to do so, then crashed as he attempted to turn back.

When the Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) was activated by the crash, Hinen was involved as the SAR Coordinator for Aeronautics.

Hinen took the data, contacted air-traffic control and family members to obtain information on the flight path, and arranged for rescue assets to be deployed to the site. During that time, Jim worked with family members to answer questions and provide information.

Hinen’s speculation is that either the aircraft was unable to climb out, and during the turn around, slowed too much and stalled, or had engine/mechanical problems which affected his performance and during the turn around, slowed too much and stalled the aircraft.

“During the summer when the temperature gets hot at high altitudes, aircraft performance is degraded,” Hinen explained. “There is a higher-density altitude.”

“Pilots should be checking aircraft performance charts during preflight to determine if they have enough power available to take off and climb out. ”

They were taken to University of Utah’s burn center in Salt Lake City to recover from second- and third-degree burns sustained in the crash. The response happened within two hours of the crash, likely preventing much different outcome.

“Due to the quick response by Jim, both pilot and passenger are expected to recover,” explained Idaho Aeronautics Administrator Mike Pape.

The Krassel Helitac Crew of McCall performed an emergency short-haul mission to extract one of those involved in the crash who would not otherwise have been able to receive further treatment.

“Short-hauls are when we secure one of our medical providers at the end of a rope who in turn secures the patient,” wrote Anthony Botello, District Ranger with the Krassel Ranger District of the Payette National Forest. “Once secure, both our responder and the patient are hauled under the helicopter at the end of the rope to a place where Life Flight or other responders can take over.”

The Forest Service only has a handful of crews in the nation that are trained and capable of performing short-haul missions.

It is believed to be the first-ever short haul of a member of the public by a Forest Service helicopter and crew.

Hinen maintains he was just one moving part in the rescue. “There were many people involved in the recovery efforts from many agencies and we all assumed a different role in the recovery effort.”

“Fortunately, the people all survived,” said Hinen. “It doesn’t always work out that way.”

Rules of the Road: Temporary Signs

Idaho highways are some of the heaviest-populated areas of the state, making them great places to reach people with messages. But, improper placement of signs or banners can compromise the safety of the road and its users. Here are some things to remember when it comes to placing signs along the highway.

The #1 best practice is to place signs outside the right-of-way (ROW). ITD’s ROW is the land beneath and beside the pavement that is needed for the highway to function well and safely. For most of our roads, the ROW includes shoulders and low drainage areas. Posting signs in this area can negatively impact safety as they can block required sight distances, create distractions and hinder maintenance activities; such as mowing and litter pick-up.

This also applies to posting signs on fences along the highway or bridges over the highway. Generally, those fences mark the edge of ITD’s ROW and posting signs in these places poses similar concerns as stated above.

There are a couple of features you can look for to help guide proper placement of your signs. If there’s a fence running along the highway, you probably shouldn’t place signs anywhere between the fence and highway. If you don’t see a fence, but see power poles along the highway, those are generally placed just inside the ROW. So, you can use power poles as a general marker and not post signs between them and the highway.

Protecting these areas is codified in Idaho law. You can read more in §18-7029 and §40-1910, Idaho Code.

It probably goes without saying, but before placing signs on private property, be sure to ask the property owner if it’s okay.

ITD’s maintenance crews have limited resources to address illegally placed signs or posters. However, when ITD maintenance crews are working in the general area, they will remove signs that pose a visual obstruction, create a safety hazard or generate complaints.

The most popular time for temporary signs is before an election. Besides placing your signs in the proper location, the next best thing you can do is collect your signs after the polls close. We’d prefer not to send out our crews to collect signs, but if they remain posted we will grab them for you. We’ll hold them for 10 days after an election, so you can collect them.

Help us keep our highways safe and follow these simple guidelines when posting temporary signs. Questions? Call ITD at (208) 334-8000 and we can help with any specifics.

ITD wins Environment and Planning honors from nation’s highway organization

BOISE – A bridge-replacement project near Sun Valley and the consolidation of 17 bridge projects in a single contract to reduce time and save millions in taxpayer funds won President’s Transportation Awards from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) on Sunday, Sept. 23.

The awards, considered the highest honors for state departments of transportation, were handed out to the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) at AASHTO’s annual conference, held this year in Atlanta, Georgia.

“The key to ITD achieving our vision to become the best transportation department in the country is building strong partnerships within our organization and in the communities across Idaho,” said Idaho Transportation Department Director Brian Ness. “Both of these awards are the result of developing vital collaborations and using innovative ways to better serve our citizens and the traveling public.”

ITD won the Environment award for the Big Wood River Bridge project that replaced the bridge south of Hailey last fall. The design team consulted the Idaho Dept. of Fish & Game regarding wildlife mortality, and added wildlife passage tunnels on both ends of the bridge to reduce vehicle-animal crashes from migrating animals crossing the bridge.

The passageways were designed and built 33-feet wide to maximize the attractiveness of the tunnel to animals — if it was too narrow, it likely would not be used because the animals needed more room for escape in case a predator appeared. It was also built 13-feet tall to accommodate large animals such as elk.

Additional lanes improved traffic flow around slower recreational vehicles that are heading through the resort towns to the mountainous recreation areas, and addressed the regular occurrence of bottlenecking which plagued the former bridge. It also allowed for better traffic flow of large trucks traveling the highway carrying resources, materials, and supplies on a daily basis to support the resort and recreational activities.

ITD also won a President’s Award in the Planning category for replacing 17 bridges under one contract, saving $1.7 million and about 17 years. The single contract enabled the collection of engineering data on all the bridges at once rather than separately. Jointly collecting the data on bridge alignment, subsurface stability, right-of-way footprint, and hydraulic property saved about $100,000 per bridge compared to a bridge-by-bridge method.

The 17 bridges are located in ITD districts 4, 5, and 6 — in eastern, south-central, and southeast Idaho. The three districts worked together to accomplish common objectives.

Even more savings occurred once construction began on these bridges, as the project bid came in about $3 million under estimates.

ITD has won 13 AASHTO President’s Awards in the nine years Ness has been at the helm of the organization.