Public comment period open for Yellowstone road corridor plan
Yellowstone is the most traveled section of road in the Pocatello/Chubbuck area. The Bannock Transporation and Planning Organization said it’s time to update improvement plans for the Yellowstone corridor.
The last corridor plan done on Yellowstone was in 2003. Most of those changes have been implemented so BTPO said now it’s time to come up with the next 20-30 year plan.
The area of Yellowstone included in the plan runs from the 5th Street interchange to Reservation Road.
Mori Byington, planning director with BTPO, said the goal of the plan is to smooth traffic flow and accessibility and to enhance safety.
Statistics from the Idaho Transportation Department show that in 2010-2014, there were 1,637 crashes that occurred on Yellowstone. Of those, 589 were injury crashes and one was a fatality.
Byington said another problem with parts of Yellowstone is increased traffic at intersections. It’s getting so there are too many cars at some intersections that they can’t get through in a timely manner. It takes several lights before they can go through.
Byington said one of the biggest challenges has been simply trying to figure out the best solution.
“We know we all want to drive on Yellowstone but do we want to put all our emphasis there, or do we want to look at alternate routes, like Jefferson and Hawthorne, so there will be less vehicles on Yellowstone instead of trying to address them?”
“I think that was the biggest balance we had was do we address them or try to shift them to a different way,” Byington said.
Some of the target areas being looked at in the plan include the I-86 interchange, the intersection at Flandro Drive and the intersection at Alameda Road.
Byington said public input has been key in this process. The process started in January 2016 and they have gathering public input and analysis on what areas they think need improvement, what those improvements are, etc. Then they’ve taken that input and come up with these plans. Now, Byington said, they want the public’s input again to make sure they’ve gotten it right and if there’s anything else that needs some work before finalizing the corridor plan.
A few people at the open house thought the plans looked good and would do everything they needed to do.
“I think they’re really great,” said Darrell Stewart, long-time Pocatello resident. “Looking at the plans and the drawings and the suggestions, I think it’s really good ideas and it will help greatly improve traffic flow and reduce accidents. I’m excited and I’m anxious to see these changes put in place.”
There was an open house held Tuesday night at Pocatello City Hall to address questions and show the public the plans. The public can still see the plan online and submit comments. The public comment period is open until May 1.
After that, Byington said they will take the comments and finalize the plans. A city council member, Jim Johnson, said the public input will also help the board determine which projects are a higher priority. So that can help determine the order the projects are done as funding becomes available.
Byington said Pocatello could see work start on the first project in 2019.
