8/8/2006
Preliminary improvements for U.S. 91 to be discussed at open house Aug. 24
POCATELLO - A public open house will be held to solicit comment on draft preliminary improvements to U.S. 91 from Siphon Road in Chubbuck to Sunnyside Road in Idaho Falls, the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) announced.
The open house will be Thursday, Aug. 24, from 4 - 7 p.m., in the Blackfoot City Hall Council Chambers, 175 North Broadway.
Draft preliminary improvements to U.S. 91 will be displayed and project officials will be available to answer questions. Interested parties are encouraged to drop by anytime during the three-hour period. No formal presentation will be made.
The first meetings for this corridor study were held in February 2005. Preliminary improvements to be presented at the Aug. 24 meeting are based on issues and concerns raised by the public in 2005 and on data gathered for the "Existing and Future Conditions Report." (The "Existing and Future Conditions Report" is posted on the project Web site at www.itd.idaho.gov/getinvolved - choose southeast Idaho on the map and click on U.S. 91 North Corridor Plan.)
A corridor plan is a long-range, multi-modal plan for managing and improving a transportation corridor, which is developed through collaboration and cooperation with other government entities and extensive public input. Corridor planning saves money by anticipating growth and identifying long-range right-of-way needs before solutions become too expensive.
As part of this project, ITD and the Federal Highway Administration are preparing a National Environmental Policy Act document for the Shelley to York Road component of the U.S. 91 North Corridor.
Judy Harmon, ITD senior planner, is leading the corridor planning effort. She can be contacted for additional information at (208) 239-3369 or by email judy.harmon@itd.idaho.gov