A word with Dan McElhinney, COO of Idaho Transportation Department

Less than a week before Dan McElhinney’s appointment as the Idaho Transportation Department‘s chief operating officer, the state’s main north-south highway was closed due to rockslides — some the size of the house.

Some people might have taken that as an omen, but McElhinney took the job anyway, starting in August.

The state’s transportation infrastructure affects every company and industry. If companies can’t transport their products to the marketplace because a critical road is blocked or a bridge is inaccessible, that will show up in the bottom line. Poorly maintained roads can also cause wear and tear on vehicles, sometimes necessitating repairs.

Idaho is not alone in its need to look at transportation infrastructure maintenance problems. A July 16 article from USA Today states that “Nationwide, 21.8% of roads are in poor condition, 7.6% of bridges are in need of replacement or repair, and there have been 4.8 derailments for every 100 miles of train track from 2015 to 2019, the most common cause of which are broken rails or welds. In some states, these figures are far worse, indicating a threat to not only the economy but to public health and safety as well.”

The Idaho Business Review checked in with McElhinney to see how it was going.

What does the COO do exactly?

My first month has been great, while very busy. The topics have ranged from highway safety, to delivering projects, to employee development, and building industry partnerships. As the new Chief Operations Officer for ITD, working in unison with our director and Idaho Transportation Board members, I provide leadership and support to the six district engineers and district employees across the state in highway planning, design, construction, maintenance and traffic operations serving the traveling public and local communities. Daily, our 1,600 ITD employees are focused on operating and improving an integrated network of over 12,000 highway lane miles with over 1,800 bridges, 34 rest areas, and 12 fixed ports of entry. I have been to each of our six districts across the state, from Idaho Falls to Pocatello to Shoshone, and Boise to Lewiston and Coeur d’Alene, and I am impressed with the talent level and dedication of all our employees.

What led you to leave California and take this position?

It is an honor to be part of an ITD team that is a national award-winning department and one of the best transportation agencies in the country.  The attention to efficient public service by ITD leadership and a strong commitment by the Idaho Transportation Board to meeting the needs of the fastest-growing state in the nation with less regulation overall to help manage the program and deliver improvements were key factors. Also, Idaho is a beautiful state with fantastic rivers for rafting and fishing, wonderful mountain wilderness, and amazing parks and trails. It is good to be back in the Rockies.

How are Idaho and California different, in terms of how they build, maintain and fund roads?

Idaho differs by having lower volumes of traffic on our main freeways and rural highways, but the issues of safety, mobility, and economic opportunity are just as important in both states. Here in Idaho, contractors are joining with us to deliver cost-effective improvement projects, allowing more work to be funded. These projects are funded primarily with dedicated federal and state user fees, while in California various large county and statewide voter approved transportation-only tax measures were also in place to supplement the highway system and transit needs.

We hear that Ada County Highway District is the only county-wide highway district in the country. What are the advantages and disadvantages of that?

I haven’t had a chance to meet our ACHD partners yet, but I hear that they have done exceptional work on local streets in the capital city and throughout the county, collaborating with ITD employees when needed on the highways too for many years. There is an advantage of having a dedicated board and department like ACHD to respond to county-wide issues with the expected local growth and community needs. Working together, we will continue to help keep local, state, and federal transportation-agency collaboration and communications going strong for all of our success as a transportation network serving Ada County.

What do you consider Idaho’s biggest transportation need?

The investment that may be needed to address the transportation challenges of growth with our current aging infrastructure. Idaho’s state transportation system connects people to jobs, education, healthcare, cultural and sporting events, recreational opportunities, and to family members. It ensures our security at home and abroad. A strong transportation system is critical to the nation’s and Idaho’s economy. A robust, growing economy requires that a transportation system be created and sustained. Our role at ITD is to deliver efficient projects on schedule and to plan ahead and help define the system needs for public information, helping Idaho to consider options and priorities for potential funding as needed.

What’s the most exciting road project you’ve worked on so far?

Blasting the large rock overhang on US-95 near Riggins in August was exciting.  A massive slide had occurred in early July that closed the highway. As ITD reviewed the site and removed fallen boulders, we repaired the local county road for use as a detour, hired experts in geology to assess the hillside’s stability and in blasting with controlled charges for rock demolition, planned a safe rock overhang removal in detail, drilled for a week and placed blast materials, and then safely blasted the 14,000 yards of rock on August 28 — debris that is still being removed as planned by trucks alongside the reopened US-95.

What would surprise us the most about building roads?

That the work is being done by professionals committed to safety and to creating the best transportation system possible for the citizens of Idaho. There is a dedicated team of Idaho professional engineers designing and building the highway and bridge improvements we see, both from ITD and private contractors. There is also an equally dedicated team of professionals planning for snow-removal operations to keep us and our economy moving this fall and winter. I would also like to make an urgent request to drivers to please slow down and drive safely in highway work zones, because we want everyone to get home safely at the end of the day. Thank you.