ITD Chief Deputy Scott Stokes has spent his entire career advocating for highway safety issues, and that focus earned him the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA).
AAMVA presented the award to Stokes during their annual conference, Aug. 23 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Stokes began with ITD in December of 1991 as a staff engineer in the bridge section at ITD headquarters, after some time spent in the private sector. He then began a rapid ascent. In 1993, he moved north to become a project development engineer in Coeur d’Alene. Eighteen months later, he returned to Boise to become the state bridge engineer. Then, in 1996, he accepted the position of District 1 Engineer, and moved back to Coeur d’Alene.
“Every day in homes across Idaho, families and friends of vehicle accident victims bear the anguish and grief of needless loss of life. Through his tireless efforts and lifetime commitment to highway safety, Scott is helping Idaho reduce and hopefully end this senseless tragedy,” DMV Manager Alberto Gonzalez wrote in his letter nominating Scott.
During his 25-year career at the department, Scott witnessed how engineering decisions, operational procedures and media campaigns impact highway safety, Alberto continued.
In February 2007, Stokes transferred from his job as District 1 Engineer to a new job as Deputy Director at headquarters. He stepped up to serve as interim Director from July 2009 to January 2010.
His passion is linking how engineering and operating decisions influence driver behavior and how driver behavior should influence engineering and operations.
Through these positions and his passion for safety, Stokes led the effort to make improving highway safety the top priority for all employees.
Starting Monday, August 27, crews will begin constructing turn lanes at the intersection of Idaho Highway 53 and Chase Road west of Rathdrum.
Work will last up to one month as crews add a right-turn lane and a center-turn lane at the intersection. Crews are expected to be on site during the day from Monday through Friday, with some weekend work allowed. Travelers should expect speed reductions in the area and intermittent single lane closures.
Highway traffic in both directions will be stopped completely only when crews are removing about a dozen trees, which is necessary to construct the new right-turn lane.
Beginning the week of August 27, crews will work to improve fish passage at Moose Creek near Elk City by replacing an aging culvert under Idaho Highway 14.
The old culvert is not large enough to accommodate the flow of water and allow fish to easily pass.
“At high water, the flow is constricted and funneled into the circular pipe, creating higher velocities like a spigot,” said Miranda Main, a project manager for the Watershed Division within the Nez Perce Tribe. “The culvert is currently considered a barrier to migration for spring chinook and steelhead, but the replacement should open access to upstream habitat.”
Main said all life stages of fish would be able to swim upstream, with other features of the new culvert providing them areas to rest.
This project was designed by ITD and is funded by the Nez Perce Tribe and the U.S. Forest Service.
Debco Construction will replace the culvert in the next two months for $500,000. During construction, travelers should expect alternating, one-way traffic through the work zone.
Check out this short video from Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter about not flying drones near wildfires to avoid interference with the firefighting efforts underway. The public service announcement comes after it was widely reported that drones had interfered with, and hampered, wildfire-fighting efforts this past weekend.
With Labor Day right around the corner, parents and children are likely counting down the days to the end of summer, but they should consider a different number: 86.
That’s at least how many people have died on Idaho routes so far during what is called the 100 Deadliest Days, or the time between Memorial Day and Labor Day when fatalities increase statewide ever year. Of those 86 fatalities, 10 were in the northern five counties.
Law enforcement provides safety data like this to the Idaho Transportation Department to help monitor highway conditions and plan for changes when possible. North of the Latah county border, ITD pays special attention to the following high-speed and congested areas: the intersections of Prairie Avenue and US-95, Prairie Avenue and ID-53, Prairie Avenue and ID-41, Hauser Lake Road and ID-53, and Ramsey Road and ID-53.
From adding turn lanes and to constructing new interchanges, ITD has plans to address safety concerns at these locations but wants drivers to exercise awareness and caution for the rest of this summer.
Engineers can design safer highways, and officers can patrol them, but what drivers do behind the wheel can affect their safety more than anything else on the road.
Be engaged, and drive well these last two weeks, Idaho.
Construction will begin this week near Kamiah on US-12 to add turn lanes at Valley View Drive.
Crews will work during the day, with some Saturday work allowed. During active work, one lane will be closed. When crews are not working, US-12 will open up to two lanes.
Debco Construction will complete the turn lanes for $1 million in the next two months.
Aug. 23 update: Weekend closures scheduled for Aug. 24-Aug. 27 have been postponed. New dates will be shared in the new future.
BOISE– Ongoing improvements to the Interstate 84/Karcher Interchange in Nampa will require two closures the week of August 20. Motorists should plan ahead and consider an alternate route on the following dates:
Wed., Aug. 22 at 8 p.m. to Thurs., Aug. 23 at 5 a.m.: The interchange will be closed while crews install new traffic signals at the Midland Boulevard/Karcher Bypass intersection and remove two overhead signs. Midland Boulevard, Karcher Bypass, Exit 33 A, 33B and the westbound entrance ramp will all be closed to traffic. Motorists will be detoured via Nampa/Caldwell Boulevard and the Karcher Connector.
Fri., Aug. 24 at 8 p.m. – Mon. Aug. 27 at 5 a.m.: Exit Ramp 33A will be closed to traffic while crews reconstruct and modify the ramp. Westbound I-84 motorists will be directed to use Exit 35 at Northside Blvd instead of Exit 33A during this closure.
The project includes the following improvements:
*Eliminating exit 33B and adding lanes at exit 33A/Midland Blvd.
*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
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in August 2018. It has been updated with more recent crash data and relevant action by ITD.
Every summer, thousands of residents from the Treasure Valley escape the heat of the valley floor and head north into the cool beauty of the mountains, especially on weekends. When it’s time for all those people to head home Sunday night, traffic can get congested on our mountain roads.
Recently, a number of people have reached out to ITD concerned about one intersection in particular: Idaho Highway 55 and the Banks-Lowman Road. Those who sought recreation and cooler climes in Crouch or Garden Valley can find themselves in a long line of vehicles waiting to turn left (south) onto ID-55.
So, what’s to be done? Why is congestion so bad? What’s ITD doing about it? This article is part of an effort by the Idaho Transportation Department to provide information about the situation, what the Department is doing, and what some options may be moving forward.
The Situation
Idaho 55 is a major corridor connecting the Treasure Valley, and some of the most pristine recreational destinations in America: Garden Valley, Cascade, Donnelly, and McCall. It’s also one of two options for Treasure Valley residents to access Central and Northern Idaho, the other being US-95.
Because of this, ID-55 sees a major increase in traffic on the weekends. On a typical summer weekday, the section by Banks sees about 6,500 trips, split equally headed north and south. So there’s roughly 3,250 cars heading north and 3,250 cars heading south in a given day.
To give you a point of reference, let’s compare that section of ID-55 with other two-lane facilities in Southwest Idaho. ID-55 in Nampa sees around 18,500 weekday trips. US-20/26 in Meridian sees around 21,000 trips each day during the week. And a two lane section of ID-44 (State St.) west of Eagle experiences 23,500 daily trips in the work week.
The traffic situation does change on summer weekends for the section of ID-55 by Banks. Traffic significantly increases and is directional. On Friday and Saturday, most of that traffic is heading north. On Sunday, nearly all that traffic is heading south.
The high volume of southbound traffic does mean it can take a while for a safe opening to appear for those waiting to turn left out of the Banks-Lowman Road. Between the waits for an opening, and the increased number of people leaving the Garden Valley area, you get congestion and increased drive times.
What does this mean? When we look at the data, the intersection of ID-55 and the Banks-Lowman Road functions well Monday through Saturday. On Sunday, for a few hours in the afternoon as everyone that traveled up during the week heads home, traffic on ID-55 is heavy and speeds are reduced. The flow on ID-55 is reasonably uninterrupted but there are long wait times for those turning left on the highway from the Banks-Lowman Road. Data reveal the significant congestion concern primarily happens for a few hours during the 15 Sundays of summer (Memorial Day to Labor Day).
Safety of the intersection
In addition to the concerns of congestion, people are concerned this might be a dangerous intersection. We can look to the data and see how things compare.
Our current confirmed traffic crash data goes up to 2017. If we look at the five-year history of this intersection, from 2013-2017, there have been 5 reportable crashes. Two of those crashes resulted only in property damage. Two resulted in one person suffering minor injuries. The final crash resulted in one serious injury and two minor injuries. We are aware of the crash that occurred in2018, involving the tragic loss of one life and injury to several others, not yet reported in our database.
Additionally, the Department tracks High Accident Locations (HAL) across the state and ranks them. The ranking is determined by the frequency of crashes (how many there have been), the severity of those crashes, and the rate of crashes (crashes per 1 million miles traveled). Based on current data, this intersection does not rank in the top 1,000 HAL intersections across the state. By comparison, the intersection of ID-55 and ID-44 in Eagle is #165.
ITD’s Action
As the Department weighs decisions, a number of factors are taken into consideration. Data, such as that outlined above, is one of those. The Department’s mission is “Your Safety. Your Mobility. Your Economic Opportunity.” So we gather the best data regarding these three factors to make sound decisions on how to best invest our limited transportation dollars
We care about you, the people of Idaho, who we serve. Hearing from you is very important to us. It’s important we give you the information so you see what we see, and better understand how we make these decisions.
Our main effort to mitigate heavy weekend travel at this intersection is to flag it during the holiday weekends, when traffic is at its highest. Those weekends are Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day. Flagging is effective because the person at the intersection can make judgement calls in the moment and quickly stop and redirect traffic. Flagging costs the Department around $3,500 a day.
In 2019, the Department installed new signage before the intersection to better warn motorists of the intersection and prepare accordingly.
Also in 2019, ITD was awarded funding through the Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) for preliminary design of improvements to the intersection. Completing this work will evaluate viable options to address the seasonal congestion. This is the a major step in outlining the cost and prioritizing a project.
ITD has been actively engaging with the communities in the Boise and Valley Counties to address this concern. A town hall meeting was held last Fall and additional working groups will be held in the coming months. The goal of this initiative is to partner with the businesses, event organizers, and governing bodies to find workable short-term solutions.
A long-range solution
Flagging can help improve traffic flow on busy weekends, but Idaho is growing and traffic is growing with it. So what can be done to decrease congestion at the ID-55 and Banks-Lowman Road intersection?
Before exploring these, it’s important to once again put this intersection in context. It does not rank high in terms of congestion or safety concerns. That’s a significant consideration when it comes to getting the most bang for the taxpayers’ buck. That said, ITD has been investigating possible opportunities for changes.
The following are some of the solutions ITD is exploring. Currently, there are no plans to implement any of these. Each of them will have trade-offs we want the public to consider.
1. Traffic Signal
This is the most popular suggestion we’ve received from the public. It’s an understandable solution. If the problem is cars coming down ID-55 not giving an opening for those turning out of Banks-Lowman, put in a signal to stop the highway traffic long enough to move some people out.
Well, it gets a little more complicated than that.
First, the one-lane bridge to the boat landing, owned by Boise County, makes for an unusual intersection. In order to safely direct traffic on and off that leg, you need some extended signal timing, which will add considerable wait times and therefore congestion, primarily to ID-55, but also impacting Banks-Lowman Rd.
Another concern is that a signal will force the currently free-flowing traffic on ID-55 to stop. This creates a queue. As that queue backs up, major safety concerns arise. Imagine a driver coming down the mountain going 55mph, turning a corner and suddenly coming upon break lights. A signal adds new safety and mobility concerns, with every bit as much risk of serious injury as the existing condition, and possibly more overall delay for travelers.
2. Roundabout
A roundabout can keep traffic flowing and provide better opportunity for those coming off Banks-Lowman to get onto the highway.
Aerial view of the ID-55/Banks-Lowman intersection
Again, you have the issue of the one-lane bridge complicating things. Legs of a roundabout typically allow two-way travel.
Roundabouts also require a big footprint, something this intersection doesn’t have. Things are very tight with three of the quadrants bordered by rivers and the last hugging a mountainside. A roundabout would either require a massive bridge structure or significant carving out of the mountainside.
3. Third Lane
The Department has begun exploring the option of adding a third lane that would accept southbound traffic. The concept is this lane be open for left-turning traffic from Banks-Lowman to turn into that serves as a refuge from ID-55 southbound traffic. A vehicle could turn into this lane and gain speed to merge with ID-55.
We anticipate this project would require a new bridge on the south leg of the intersection to accommodate the extra lane, and we’d have to cut into the mountainside north and south of Banks-Lowman to make room for the lane and the tapers before and after.
The silver lining for this option is the age of the bridge on ID-55. Though it is safe today, it will have to be replaced in the near future due to its age and condition. Replacing it with a wider bridge becomes much more cost-effective at that time. Currently, this bridge is not scheduled for replacement in our 7-year plans.
The Bottom Line
We have absolutely heard from those of you wanting ITD to “fix this problem.” Hopefully this article shows we continue to look at ways to address the issue and that there’s no easy solution.
As we consider all of these actions, we have to weigh the cost/benefit. The long-range options explored above will cost tens of millions of dollars. And in the context of crash data and congestion, it is far from our highest priority. That does not eliminate the possibility of making improvements, it just makes it much harder.
In the meantime, we continue to commit to flagging on the busy holiday weekends. We will continue to explore other alternatives.
We also encourage those who recreate on the weekends along this corridor to plan ahead. Consider leaving earlier or later to avoid the heaviest travel times. Consider alternate routes such as Idaho Highway 21 – the folks at Lowman and Idaho City would be happy to see you. Most importantly, anticipate that congestion is a reality during the summer weekends and use your best behavior to stay safe and keep your fellow motorists safe.
BOISE – ITD’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) group recently earned the Special Achievement in GIS, or SAG Award, on July 11 at the annual Esri User Conference in San Diego. Esri is the global market leader in GIS software, and selected ITD from more than 300,000 eligible organizations worldwide to receive the award for innovative application of mapping, data analytics, and thought leadership in the field of transportation.
This work benefits the department, but also is a step toward greater access to road data for the public.
This roadway location intelligence will be available to local government entities and highway districts to provide accurate disbursement of federal highway dollars,” ITD Senior Service Delivery Manager Jeff Carpenter explained. “This data will be available to the public for use in urban planning, environmental impact analysis, disaster management, natural resource management and health-care planning. GIS location intelligence can help in many aspects of community development and planning.”
And here is the interesting part about this award:
ITD did not apply for it. The agency was selected, unsolicited.
Esri looked at the work ITD is doing, then sent it to a group of peers for review, and they nominated the department for the award. Linear Referencing expert Amit Hazra said that ITD has the best road-network data that he has worked with in doing roads and highways implementation projects.
The award selection was cemented by the high quality of ITD’s road network, specifically the road data for each ITD district.
ITD’s system provides quicker access to data, which can then be used to make data-driven decisions about planning, project funding, or asset management.
There were 134 countries represented in San Diego, and 21,000 people on hand.
“There was a single example of excellence used in the transportation category, and it was Idaho,” Carpenter said.
Back Row: Sydney Lewis, Brian Ness, Will Thoman, Jeff Carpenter Front Row: David Fulton, Nicole Hanson, Wendy Bates, Tyler Jackson Not Pictured: Michael Miller, Brian Smith
BOISE- Driver’s license transactions times have shortened in county offices as staff get more familiar with new software, and issues are being addressed through software solutions. County offices are also catching up due to higher than average customer volume due to the Aug. 9-10 closures statewide. On Aug. 13, transactions were being processed at 65 percent. Today that number is closer to 90 percent. ITD appreciates the patience of our customers and county staff as we work through this transition.
8:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 17
BOISE – The average wait time for customers making driver’s licensing transactions yesterday (Thursday, Aug. 16) shortened yesterday as workers in the county DMV offices statewide and at ITD get more familiar and comfortable using the new system.
Licensing transactions exceeded 1,700 for the third consecutive day after a slower start Monday.
Drivers licensing offices statewide processing more transactions than usual
9 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 16
BOISE – The number of driver’s license transactions remain above normal levels, as workers at county offices continue to get accustomed to new software introduced Monday at DMV offices statewide and ITD fine-tunes the system.
Larger-than-average crowds and the new system are combining for wait times that are slightly higher than average.
There were more than 1,700 licenses and identification cards issued Wednesday.
Drivers licensing offices process more transactions today, as service times get faster
5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 14
BOISE – The number of drivers licenses issued went up at nearly every county office today (Tuesday, Aug. 14) compared to yesterday as staff continue to learn the newly upgraded software system.
Here are some numbers: Statewide offices issued 2,079 licenses and identification cards today, compared to 1,384 all of yesterday (Monday, Aug. 13).
In Ada County, the largest in Idaho, the number went from 159 yesterday to 420. In Kootenai County, with both Coeur d ‘Alene and Post Falls offices open today, 210 credentials were issued, compared to just 82 yesterday. The Post Falls office was closed yesterday. Canyon County was at 173 today, up from 135 yesterday.
As county staff learn continue to learn the system, DMV officials expect the number to rise on a daily basis. Customers are still encouraged to wait until next week if they don’t need renew a license or identification card right away.
Drivers licensing offices statewide open, but slower processing times expected
8 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 14
BOISE – County driver’s licensing offices statewide are up and running today (Tuesday, Aug. 14), but processing times may be slowed as staff continues working with new software recently brought online.
Although the new processes and workflow were challenging, offices statewide processed approximately 1,300 transactions and were running much more smoothly by the end of the day. The 1,300 transactions represent about 65% of normal activity for a Monday.
“We appreciate the patience of customers and our county partners we get used to the new system,” said Alberto Gonzalez, Idaho’s DMV Administrator. “There will continue to be longer service times as county staff work through the new software, so if you can wait until next week to process your transaction, we encourage you to do so. If you can’t wait, we just ask that you be patient with the delays as we work through these issues.”
“We apologize for any inconvenience, but are incredibly grateful that people are patient with us as we get up-to-speed,” he added.
Wed., Aug. 22 at 8 p.m. to Thurs., Aug. 23 at 5 a.m.: The interchange will be closed while crews install new traffic signals at the Midland Boulevard/Karcher Bypass intersection and remove two overhead signs. Midland Boulevard, Karcher Bypass, Exit 33 A, 33B and the westbound entrance ramp will all be closed to traffic. Motorists will be detoured via Nampa/Caldwell Boulevard and the Karcher Connector.
Well, it gets a little more complicated than that.
