W.W. Clyde & Co. will hire a majority of the craft workforce it needs from Twin Falls and the surrounding area to complete the Twin Falls Alternate Route project. To date, W.W. Clyde & Co. has secured contracts with 16 Idaho-based firms as subcontractors or suppliers for the project.

The firm anticipates that more than 90% of the work will be completed by a local workforce, with less than 10% coming from the company’s Springville, Utah, office.

Upon completion, the project will provide an alternate route for motorists and commercial traffic traveling past Twin Falls. According to the Idaho Dept. of Transportation, in its current condition, the roadway is over capacity and during peak hours, motorists encounter major congestion.

The project will expand the two-lane highway into four lanes, as well as construct a four-lane bridge over Rock Creek Canyon. The existing dirt fill and culvert will be removed and the creek will be restored through the project area.

Idaho Sand & Gravel Co. was recognized for its worker safety programs at the 2009 American Road & Transportation Builders Association National Convention held in Charleston, S.C.

To qualify for the award, Idaho Sand & Gravel demonstrated an OSHA-recordable incident rate lower than the industry average. The firm was then invited to make a presentation before a panel of industry professionals who judged programs based on corporate safety culture, operational safety plans and worker training programs.

Awards were presented in three categories, based on the number of employee hours worked during the previous year. Idaho Sand & Gravel received the award for 500,000 or fewer employee hours worked. Three other firms were recognized with the ARTBA award.