Submitted by Ken Watts
In February of 2020, JUB Engineers provided a report to the Idaho Transportation Department (District 6) regarding alternative solutions for the US 20 Sheep Falls to Island Park Village highway segment. JUB engineers proposed additional passing lanes and wider shoulders to improve safety. The cost in 2019 was about $106,000,000. This was the same solution that was unanimously arrived at in a community meeting in Island Park. You may not be aware that there were two similar design studies that proceeded the JUB Engineers study. In November of 2016 Kittelson & Associates, Inc. completed a similar study. The title was US 20: Chester To Montana Safety Corridor Plan. “This report builds on the US 20 Corridor Plan: Ashton to Montana State Line to lay out a vision for US 20 that will reduce crashes and peak traffic congestion without incurring the expense and impacts of constructing a four-lane divided highway. This vision includes continuous alternating passing lanes in both directions (also called a “2+1” configuration…..) and wider shoulders……” “When implemented, this configuration is expected to have two primary benefits: 1. Reduce crashes by approximately 25-30%, resulting in annual savings of $700,000 - $1.35 million per year in crash costs. 2. Long long-term efficient movement of motor vehicle traffic, resulting in people spending about the same time following other vehicles 20 years from now, when traffic volumes are projected to be 60% to 100% higher than they are currently, as they do today.” You can see that starting nearly ten years ago, ITD laid out a plan to improve the existing 2 lane highway and upgrade it to a 2+1 or super 2 configuration that people at the Island Park community meeting supported. At no point did ITD reveal either of the studies at the public meetings in Ashton or Island Park. These are viable alternatives that were not introduced. ITD had decided on their 4 lane freeway alternative before they ever came to the public for input. This appears to be a clear violation of the spirit of the National Environmental Policy Act. Here are more quotes from the Kittelson study: “Given the above findings, our recommendation is that the 2+1 configuration with 8’ shoulders should be adopted as the long-term vision for the US 20 corridor between Chester and the Montana State line. Additionally, other less significant treatments, such as the other alternatives evaluated here (i.e., rumble strips, Safety Edge, enhancing clear zones, and access management), should still also be considered in a case-by-case basis as the roadway is reconstructed.” “In total, the recommended configuration is expected to reduce all crashes on the corridor by 25-30%, fatal/injury crashes by about 20-25%, and property damage only (PDO) crashes by 25-30%.” “Providing frequent and regular passing opportunities will improve traffic flow on the corridor by reducing the amount of time people spend following slower vehicles.” “As previously noted, the 2+1 configuration is expected to provide for a LOS of “C” or better along much of the corridor in the year 2036. It is also expected to reduce the percentage of time that people spend following from an average of 73% in the year 2036 to 63%, during peak conditions in the peak direction. The percent time spent following will be lower in the off-peak direction and during most of the year.” With the downturn in visitation to Yellowstone, a 2+1 or super 2 is a viable design option for US 20 Ashton to SH 87 and must be considered by ITD.
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