The Idaho Transportation Board will start its annual tour of Idaho by holding its monthly meeting in Lewiston next week. The meeting will be in the District 2 office, 2600 Frontage Road on Thursday and Friday (April 15-16). The board will alternate its monthly meetings between Boise and district offices until next fall.

At the board’s recommendation, district tours will have a stronger emphasis on all modes of transportation. The tour on Thursday will begin at the Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport. After discussing plans for the airport with its manager and charter service with a fixed base operator, the board will learn about public transportation in the area from the director of Lewiston-based Valley Transit.

Several stops are planned as the board travels east on U.S. 12, including at the passing lane project site where a University of Idaho archeology professor will provide an overview on archeological issues at that location.

Other items on the agenda include a tour of the Lewis and Clark Center in Weippe, lunch at the Weippe maintenance shed, and an overview on the Dent Bridge project, a cable suspended repair project. Upon returning to Lewiston, the board will stop at the Port of Lewiston for a briefing on container shipping and projects under way at the port before concluding its tour.

Regular Board Meeting

The board will conduct its business meeting at the District 2 Office on Friday (April 16). Topics include:

McCall East-West Loop Project: The board will revisit project changes in District 3 to fund the additional costs of the McCall East-West Loop project. At its March meeting in Boise, some board members expressed concern with the McCall project – primarily over the condemnation of a right-of-way parcel – and asked that the project item be considered again at the April meeting.

Adopt-A-Highway presentation: The board will honor the Culdesac Gem Community Adopt-A-Highway team for it efforts to keep a portion of U.S. 95 free of litter and debris.

Lewis-Clark Metropolitan Planning Organization: The recently established Lewis-Clark Metropolitan Planning Organization will provide an update on its status. Members of the MPO, which was created as a result of the 2000 Census, are the city of Asotin and Asotin County in Washington, and the city of Lewiston and Nez Perce County (Idaho).