ITD dedicates $2.2M for city street reconfiguration

by Lee Hughes Staff Writer
| May 12, 2015 7:00 AM

SANDPOINT — The Idaho Transportation Board has voted to allocate $2.245 million to fund the redesign and reconstruction of Fifth Avenue between Pine and Cedar streets, reconfiguring the existing one-way road to two-way traffic.

The move is a precursor to the reversion of downtown city streets currently owned by the Idaho Transportation Department to local control.

At its April 29 meeting, the board voted unanimously to release $400,000 in fiscal year 2015 for project development costs, and another $1.77 million in fiscal year 2016 for right-of-way acquisition, utility relocation and construction costs. Another $75,000 would fund state forces, according to draft meeting minutes.

The money for the reversion effort comes from ITD’s Unallocated Account, a slush fund set aside by the board for projects such as the Pine to Cedar street effort. The balance in the account for both fiscal years was $5 million before the money for the local project was released, ITD Chief Operating Officer Jim Carpenter told the board.

ITD is tight for money after the 2015 Legislature was only able to come up with a last-minute, $94 million compromise transportation Band-Aid. The money comes from an increase in a combination of vehicle registration fees and a 7-cent-per-gallon gas tax increase. The changes take effect July 1.

Idaho Transportation Department Director Brian Ness said the state’s roads and highways are actually underfunded by $543 million annually. Maintenance of Idaho’s highways and bridges — not new highway projects, but simply keeping existing infrastructure from falling apart — continues to climb at an annual rate of $262 million.

Once the Pine Street to Cedar Street project is complete, and Highway 2 traffic is redirected from Pine Street, First Avenue and Cedar Street to Fifth Avenue, traffic is predicted to become heavy during the peak driving hour of the day, especially for local cross traffic across Fifth Avenue. Local officials dispute the level and extent of the congestion.