Traffic lights to be improved in Idaho Falls

The Idaho Falls City Council wants to improve traffic flow throughout the city. The council plans to do this with a traffic signal study.

The council unanimously approved an agreement Thursday evening with Six Mile Engineering in the amount of $167,000 for a traffic study to be completed. The firm will look at 38 signals throughout the city. The areas include: Sunnyside Road and Holmes Avenue, Holmes and 1st Street and Woodruff Avenue and John Adams Parkway. The firm plans to look at the volume and direction of traffic. The council said for every $1.00 they spend in signal coordination, they will see $40 in return. The savings come from improving the signal coordination, resulting in people getting to where they need to be faster.

“As a part of the study the consultant will also recommend signal improvement. Perhaps some of those signals there is a need for additional lanes that would involve construction so those would be identified and help us plan future improvements that would need to be made,” said Chris Frederickson, public works director for Idaho Falls.

Frederickson also said 17th Street, Sunnyside Road and Hitt Road traffic lights should be improved by fall of this year. Traffic lights at Broadway Street and Yellowstone Avenue should be complete by this spring.