Center Street Underpass closed, but downtown Pocatello still open for business
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POCATELLO – While one of the three main routes is closed, local business owners say that shouldn’t stop people from finding their way into the heart of Pocatello.
The city of Pocatello has once again closed the Center Street Underpass in order to finish the work it started last year. While business owners EastIdahoNews.com spoke with agree that the underpass needs to be fixed, they also say it cuts off a vital corridor into downtown, deterring potential customers from visiting.
They’re urging customers take another route to get there.
“(Downtown) really has turned into a community center, and it just continues to improve and grow. … This is a great time to be down here, but nobody down here can afford to lose the community support and momentum that we’ve all been creating,” said Jennifer Erchul, co-owner of the Yellowstone Restaurant.
Downtown area revitalizing
Despite the public perception that downtown is vacant, dirty and full of crime, Erchul says she’s seen multiple new businesses and building revitalizations come to the area over the last eight years. She disagrees with that perception.
“I’ve never actually seen it that way. I’ve seen the empty storefronts, but I see them coming back,” Erchul said.
Jim Young, the owner of Dude’s Public Market, expresses a similar sentiment.
“We have the best collection of density, of awesome amenities, great businesses, great people,” Young said. “Downtown is continuing to slowly become the heart of the city like it once was.”
Being so close to another route into downtown, Erchul feels that they were affected less, but observed a change in customer activity when the underpass was first closed.
“We would notice the foot traffic was less, and when we would talk to the other businesses, some of them were really affected,” Erchul said.
Effects of underpass closure
Quint Pementel, owner of Vintage Vinyl and Antiques — which sits just a block away from the underpass — says he’s been negatively impacted by closure.
“It definitely affects our business. It affects the east side of Center Street as well, just because it’s a main corridor to get to and from Old Town,” said Quint Pimentel.
The underpass was temporarily reopened at the end of summer in 2024. EastIdahoNews.com was told at that time that the reason the project couldn’t be completed was due to delays the city didn’t expect in the review and permitting process with Union Pacific Railroad.
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One of the big downsides Pimentel brought up is that it’s harder for tourists to find their way into downtown without the underpass. Travelers who exit Interstate 15 at the Clark Street exit typically drive through the underpass to get to the downtown area.
Come summertime, Pimentel worries a lot of tourists who aren’t familiar with the road situation will choose to go somewhere else.
“It’ll affect a lot of the tourists that come down here,” Pimental said. “There’s a lot of shops down here, and it’s gonna affect everybody.”
What’s left to do on the underpass?
To complete the project, Tom Kirkman, director of Public Works, said construction crews will repair the retaining walls on all four corners of the underpass, repave the sidewalks approaching the pedestrian tunnels and construct a pedestrian bridge on the west side of Center Street with new sidewalk connections.
Currently, the north pedestrian tunnel is open, while the south tunnel and the road is closed. Kirkman expects the road to remain fully closed for about six weeks before opening one lane of traffic for around two to three months.
He expects the road to be fully closed again for another six weeks, and then open one lane again for the remainder of the project.
Kirkman anticipates construction will continue until late fall, depending on outside factors.
Meanwhile, the city has detour signs to guide drivers in the right direction through downtown.
“We’re trying our best to make sure that we educate the public as best we can (to) try and make sure that they can still access downtown effectively,” Kirkman said.
There are several other accessible routes into downtown. They include the Benton Street Bridge, which is the primary detour. The Gould Street Bridge to the east of downtown and the intersection of North Main Street, Hawthorne Road, West Alameda Road and Highway 30 to the north are two others. Bannock Highway is also accessible by going down South Valley Road from South 5th Avenue.
There are multiple parking lots scattered throughout the downtown area, as well as street parking down North Main Street and North Arthur Avenue.
For people concerned about having to park far away from the business they want to visit, Erchul pointed out that downtown is all in a relatively small area.
“If you were to park on the far side of the Walmart parking lot, you might be walking further than you would if you parked in these parking lots,” Erchul said.
Even if someone does walk further than that, she said that exploring the area is a part of the charm of downtown.
“It’s so cool when you do walk, because you get to see all of the places that have popped up and all of the new things to do down here,” Erchul said.
For anyone who’s waiting to visit downtown until after construction is complete, Young offered this thought.
“We’re still bustling (and) we’re still the spot to be,” Young said. “You’re welcome to come through, because I guarantee there’s a lot more stuff going on here in historic downtown than anywhere else, especially in winter.”