Public gets first look at Hitt Road designs

The Idaho Falls Public Works Division invited the public to a meeting Tuesday night at Hillcrest High School regarding the Hitt Road Corridor project.

The project’s design team and city officials showed interested people the the plans for the $3.5 million project expected to be completed July 2015, hoping to gather comments and suggestions.

The project includes widening a half-mile mile stretch of Hitt Road south of Sunnyside Road by adding five lanes. The project, slated to break ground in spring, will also add additional turn lanes at the intersection of Hitt and Sunnyside roads.

Displays and project presentations were given every hour Tuesday night to business and homeowners near the project. Homeowner Jeff Caldwell lives in a neighborhood next to the Cabela’s being developed. He’s looking forward to another access point to his neighborhood on Hitt. He also said it appears the intersection won’t be the headache that Hitt and 17th has been.

“From what I saw here today with the presentation, it looks like they have a good plan to sort of keep themselves out of that situation, with a lot of access points and signals,” said Caldwell.

The design deadline for the project is Oct. 31., and an advertisement for bids will be made in January.