Paving the way for road safety

As part of the 2021 Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration allocated $70,951,725 to Idaho for highway infrastructure programs.

$3.9 million of the $70.9 million cut was already distributed to Boise because of its population size, which affiliates it with the Transportation Management Association. Leaving a cool $66,976,000 and some loose change for the rest of the state, Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization Executive Director Glenn Miles said. However, because the funding is not a traditional apportionment, Miles said there had been some question about how the state will divvy up the funds.

To Miles' knowledge, the Idaho Transportation Department, various legislators, and the governor's office have or are planning to submit spending proposals for the $66.9 million.

"It could get interesting in March when they discuss how that money gets allocated," Miles said. "There's always not enough to go around, but it'd be interesting to see how it shakes out."

There are a few possible alternatives to how the money is distributed, Miles said. He has heard that the money could go entirely to ITD or be divided between ITD and Local Highway Technical Assistance Council (LHTAC). Miles said a third option he has heard is that 30% would be allocated to metropolitan planning organizations, 30% to LHTAC, and 40% to ITD.

"It's going to be in the Legislature's hands because they're the ones that have to approve the allocation," Miles said.

ITD also has five 2021 supplemental requests in the process totaling $206 million. $126 million stems from Gov. Brad Little's Building Idaho's Future infrastructure initiative and the state's $630 million budget surplus. A projected breakdown of the $126 million by Miles indicated that $70.8 million would be spent on state highway infrastructure improvements, $2 million in rail crossing projects, $47.2 million in local highway infrastructure, $2 million in child/pedestrian safety projects, and $4 million in community airport improvements. This is all subject to change, Miles said, based on ITD's conversations with legislators, the governor's office, and various associations.

The board also had a brief update on the Health Corridor, which KMPO and its consultant DOWL had developed possible scenarios for stakeholder presentation last month. KMPO Transportation Planner Ali Marienau said the team is currently reviewing comments from January before hosting a second stakeholder workshop in March.

"The review just looked at some of the preliminary outcomes between the different scenarios. What projects increased or decreased volumes on certain roadways, and the interactions between some of the different corridors," Marienau said.

KMPO and DOWL will then develop a cost-benefit analysis and begin a broader public outreach forum for additional feedback.

Other items in the KMPO, ITD, and city purviews are:

• Widening of Highway 41 from 12th Avenue to Prairie
• ITD plans for the Interstate 90 Highway 41 interchange
• Expansion of Highway 41 north of Prairie Avenue
• Build out of Ramsey Road
• Improvements to Atlas Road
• Completion of Prairie from Myer Road to SH-41
• House Bill 133, which would provide additional funds for Idaho's roads and bridges

The next KMPO meeting is on March 23 at 8 a.m.