AASHTO Journal - How Idaho Road Workers Double as First Responders

A recent blog post by the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) highlights how many of its highway crews double as first responders, simply because of their ubiquitous presence along the more 12,000 miles of road stretching across the state.

[Above photo by ITD]

“We spend so much time on the road, that nine times out of ten, we’re the first on scene when anything happens,” noted Jared Loosli, an ITD foreman in the Idaho Falls area. “And we’re not just going to pass by and leave.”

In the instance of a recent multi-fatality accident near the I-15/ US-20 interchange, Loosli and his crew were called in immediately to assist the Idaho State Police or ISP. Most people don’t realize that when state troopers get called out, ITD is almost always called out too.

“We have great foremen for ITD here in Idaho,” explained ISP Lieutenant Marvin Crane. “We have personal relationships with them, and they never say they can’t do something. They’re always asking, ‘What do you need?’ and getting things done within minutes.”

[Editor’s note: ITD’s workers also step in to help fellow state department of transportation crews in emergency situations as well, such as when a mudslide hit Wyoming SH-22 back in June.]

Earlier this summer, when two crop duster planes collided and crashed alongside US-26 near Arco, an ITD striping crew was there, becoming the first to assess the pilots. Also this summer, when a motorcycle crashed on Interstate 15 near Dubois, part of the ITD maintenance crew was there, already working the roads they consider their own. The story is similar in the case of many accidents across Idaho over the years.

“These are small communities,” emphasized Jeremy Johnson, an ITD foreman based in Mackay/ Challis. “When we go out on a call, it could very well be our own friends and families. We’re thinking of keeping them safe in everything we do.”

Adding to the dangerous nature of the job is the reality that ITD’s equipment fleet is not equated with emergency vehicles, while ITD signage is too often not respected like true stop signs. Multiple layers of striped road blockades or orange traffic barrels somehow don’t always keep people out of work zones or crash areas, the agency noted.

“We don’t enjoy closing a road or causing delays,” stressed Lucas Richins, an ITD foreman in the Driggs/St. Anthony area. “We do it and we have to because it is the safest way. People need to be patient and have respect.”