IF considers Hitt Road agreement with Ammon
The Idaho Falls City Council met Monday to discuss a Joint Powers Agreement with the City of Ammon.
For the last few months the two cities have been discussing changes to one of the busiest corridors in the area, Hitt Road. At a meeting in April both cities met at the Ammon City Annex to hash out a rough plan for the road. They considered several intersections with heavy traffic flow, the 17th Street and Sunnyside Road intersections were at the top of that list. Since then, both cities have been in communication. Both have passed their city budgets in which money has been set aside for contract designs and construction of a half a mile stretch on Hitt Road, which only includes the Sunnyside Road intersection.
“The proposal is to add right turn lanes on all the approaches and also add a second left turn lane on each of those approaches,” said Idaho Falls City Engineer Kent Fugal. “We’ll be widening the road way going south to a full five-lane roadway. Two lanes each way, plus a center turn lane.”
Monday, Idaho Falls council members looked over the JPA, which outlines financial responsibility, construction management and construction of the project. The council was unable to reach a decision as members need more time to review the document. Ammon city council members are also to receive the document for review.
In the meantime Kent Fugal and Ammon City Engineer Lance Bates will present designs at a public hearing on Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 4:30 p.m. Both cities will be accepting input from the public to get a better idea property owners and commuters.
“With any major project, the public is aware of things that basically we’re not. That’s basically what it comes down to,” said Fugal.
The project is estimated at $3,400,000. Both cities said they have not abandoned their efforts to make changes to the 17th Street intersection. They said their current focus is on stabilizing Sunnyside Road as recent construction will significantly increase traffic flow in that area.
