Apparently, a pep talk by Washington Group International chief executive Steve Hanks to wavering Idaho legislators last spring was worth $30 million.

At the Boise-based company’s annual lawmaker gathering, Hanks stepped into the political realm by discussing the importance of Gov. Dirk Kempthorne’s “Connecting Idaho” initiative, a multiyear project worth $1.6 billion to overhaul the state’s road system, including deadly U.S. Highway 95. By touting the importance of the initiative to the state economy and over-the-road commerce, Hanks inspired lawmakers to support the governor’s visionary program.

Also, he eventually won a nice sugar plum for the Washington Group and Denver-based partner, CH2M Hill Inc., from the Idaho Board of Transportation – oversight of the 13 construction projects that make up “Connecting Idaho.”

In awarding the contract on a 4-1 vote to the two companies Oct. 27, the transportation board rejected the unanimous recommendation of an evaluation committee, consisting of nine senior ITD engineers, that Parsons Brinckerhoff and HDR Engineering of New York be selected as general contractor. Parsons Brinckerhoff is now suing Idaho for allowing politics to affect the bid outcome.

On the surface, Parsons Brinckerhoff has a good case.

Hanks and the Washington Group deserve credit for focusing Idaho legislators on the importance of Kempthorne’s gutsy highway program. Kempthorne more than ensured a decent legacy by dragging some legislators kicking and screaming into the 21st century by vetoing eight bills to force them to pass “Connecting Idaho” legislation, which will finally fix dangerous spots along Highway 95, the state’s only north-south route.

However, this ruckus is a reminder that Idaho has a Republican good-old-boy system that sometimes awards favorites, even when the federal government is looking over the Gem State’s shoulder.

At its Dec. 14 meeting, the Idaho Transportation Board should do more than just review the October contract award. It should forget politics and reconsider the contract award solely on technical merit, not politics, as required by federal law, which, a Parsons Brinckerhoff official told reporter Betsy Russell of The Spokesman-Review, “explicitly prohibits giving preference to local consultants or those who have given political support.”

It’s understandable that Idaho officials would favor two companies with which they’d worked in the past – and ones that would be guaranteed to support the local economy. But the seeming preferential treatment given to the Washington Group and CH2M Hill undercuts the bid process and the credibility of those involved. Also, it threatens to delay or sidetrack highway construction projects that are crucial for the state’s transportation system.

Kempthorne’s legacy may hinge on his ability to resolve this potential scandal before finicky lawmakers convene again and have second thoughts about “Connecting Idaho.”