Idaho’s Winter Road System A Success, Says ITD

BOISE (KTVB) -- This year's winter has already been tough on road crews across Idaho.

One agency is using a plan to keep roads safe that they say is working. The Idaho Transportation Department says their winter maintenance system is getting worldwide attention.

Dennis Jensen with ITD is one of the people who helped design the plan. He says their crews have turned from observations and experience to an almost scientific system.

It was designed years ago, and was implemented throughout Idaho in 2011.

It involves two main pieces. First, a storm severity index, which looks at wind speeds, precipitation, and temperature.

Using that formula, ITD can figure out when to put down specific types of chemical treatments.

The second part is just as important, the winter performance index.

"We're taking surface data and once our trucks go past that location, we're able to assess how successful we were at removing that ice or snow off the roadway," said Jensen.

ITD uses more than a hundred data sensors across the state to measure traction during and immediately after the storm. They have a rating system to tell crews almost instantly how they did.

"Every time we have an event we learn a little bit more and get a little bit better," said Jensen.

Jensen says so far this season, ITD roads have been at a safe level, 70 percent of the time during storms.

He says accidents have gone down and so have fatalities, making other states and countries take notice of Idaho's winter performance plan.

"We have a couple places in Canada that are looking at it real strongly, the state of Alaska. We actually had an area in France that implemented the system," said Jensen.

Jensen has been working for ITD for more than 30 years. He says this plan creates a standardized method so that crews know exactly what's working.