Statement from DMV Administrator about recent outages affecting issuance of driver’s license services

Statement from DMV Administrator about recent outages affecting issuance of driver’s license services

Statement from ITD Division of Motor Vehicles Administrator Alberto Gonzalez about recent outages affecting the issuance of driver’s license services in Idaho.

“This level of service affecting citizens, sheriffs and the Idaho Transportation Department is unacceptable. ITD has been continuing to work with our vendor as they work toward a solution, but outages have increased and even spread to other states. We need an Idaho solution.

ITD’s solution is to eliminate the dependency on the real time communication with our vendor’s software. ITD plans to implement the solution statewide by Thursday. It would allow county staff to input customer information in person without having to communicate in real time with our vendor. It will be stored on a server. At the end of the day, information would be provided to the vendor.

We believe this will allow county and ITD staff to provide a level of service our citizens and partners deserve.

To our partners at the county sheriff offices: We appreciate and share your frustration and concerns and are committed to fixing these problems. We are ready to meet with sheriffs and partners on solutions that will help us move forward.”

Below is the letter ITD sent to Canyon County Sheriff Kieran Donahue in response to his correspondence with Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter.

Click here for letter.

ITD recommends county sheriff’s offices close due to ongoing driver’s license issuance problems

12:10 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 28

BOISE—Due to ongoing outages related to the Division of Motor Vehicle’s software vendor that issues driver’s licenses, the Idaho Transportation Department is recommending sheriff’s offices close their doors while troubleshooting continues.

Please check with your local sheriff’s office.

ITD will be sharing more information at 1:30 p.m. on short and long-term solutions to these ongoing problems.

More information on ITD media availability will be shared at that time.

7:25 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 28

DMV transactions, vendor systems appear normal

DMV STATUS UPDATE – Normal transactions are resuming at county offices – licensing vendor systems appear to be working normally.

1 p.m. Monday, Aug. 27

Multi-state outage affects driver’s license system in Idaho

Driver’s License services are currently down across Idaho due to a multi-state outage by the vendor that provides driver’s license issuance through the Idaho Division of Motor Vehicles.

There is no current estimated time on when the system will be online. ITD apologizes for the inconvenience to our customers and county staff.

This outage is unrelated to the recent software upgrades ITD and county sheriff’s offices completed in early August.

ITD will provide updates throughout the day as we work with the vendor and county staff.

Bridge preservation at Cole and Overland intersection in Boise to begin week of Aug. 27

Overnight maintenance on the Cole Road and Overland Road intersection over Interstate 84 is scheduled to begin next week. Improvements will seal the road surface and preserve pavement life.

The contractor is permitted to work between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. and weekends. Traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction on Cole and Overland, with flagger assistance. Motorists can expect periodic delays up to 15 minutes and reduced speeds in the work zone.

Drivers are asked to slow down and pay attention when traveling in this work zone.

Work is anticipated through mid-September. For updated construction information, please check 511 before you head out.

Focus on highway safety earns Stokes AAMVA Lifetime Achievement Award

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).

Watch video tribute to Scott.

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.

Safety improvements start next week west of Rathdrum on ID-53

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.

For the latest traffic updates, check 511.

Several agencies partner to improve fish passage near Elk City

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.

Wildfires & drones don’t mix

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.

Drive well, North Idaho

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.

More safety improvements to US-12 near Kamiah to be constructed this summer

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.

UPDATED: Nighttime and weekend closures scheduled next week as part of I-84/Karcher Interchange reconstruction

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

To sign up for construction updates, please email Jennifer.gonzalez@itd.idaho.gov or call 208.334.8938.