ITD holding open house, seeking feedback on I-15 project
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BLACKFOOT — The Idaho Transportation Department is planning to improve Interstate 15. Although construction isn’t expected to begin until 2024, the public is invited to an open house on June 29 to learn more about the Fort Hall reconstruction and widening project.
“This project is a part of a multi-year planning process to improve Interstate 15 between Pocatello and Idaho Falls,” officials said in a news release from the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. “Due to the size of the corridor, the planning process is divided into several separate projects.”
Most of I-15 was constructed in the 1960s and 1970s. With the increased population and travel across eastern Idaho, it has become necessary to modernize its aging infrastructure and increase capacity and safety, ITD explained in the same news release.
Work will be focused on the stretch of interstate between Northgate Parkway Interchange (Exit 73) and about one mile north of the Fort Hall Interchange (Exit 80), according to the project’s website.
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ITD plans to widen I-15 to three lanes in each direction, improve interchange ramps, rehabilitate bridges and increase vertical clearance for overpasses. Officials say the plans were developed and designed based on environmental evaluations, traffic and geotechnical information and survey information.
At the open house, residents will be able to view design details of the project, chat with the design team and provide input. The event will be held on Thursday, June 29, from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Shoshone-Bannock Convention Center (777 Bannock Avenue in Fort Hall).
If you can’t make the open house, you can view project plans and offer your feedback online from June 29 to July 14.