US95 Parks Road Intersection and Frontage Roads Public Meeting

Idaho Transportation Department is proposing to improve safety and increase mobility on US-95 in Kootenai County between Athol and Bunco Road, where Parks Road intersects with the highway.

The US-95, Parks Road Intersection and Frontage Roads project will enhance safety for the intersection by restricting left turns within the intersection and constructing frontage roads to connect existing roadway.

The project will also:

• Increase safety and reduce crashes as traffic volume and population continue to grow.
• Create alternative routes for local traffic to improve traffic flow.
• Make improvements to the Pope/Bunco Road area, which serves Silverwood Theme Park. The project includes plans to decrease congestion and give alternative routes for theme park access.

Before developing the design improvements at US-95 and Parks Road intersection, ITD conducted a thorough evaluation of the area. A detailed and data-driven process was utilized to balance the needs of the traveling public with the impacts to nearby properties and the surrounding environment. The following categories were included in the analysis.

• Safety / Traffic Operations / Flow
• Access
• Environmental Considerations
• Right-of-Way impacts
• Connectivity / Constructability
• Cost
• Stakeholder input (Here’s where you come in!)

ITD is proposing improvements to the intersection of US-95 and Parks Road and the Pope/Bunco Road area to enhance safety, increase mobility, and reduce congestion. The project is currently in the design phase and proposed improvements include:

• Eliminating left turns and median crossing to allow right-in/right-out only access at Parks Road and US-95.
• Constructing a frontage road from Parks Road to where Lawrence Road currently dead-ends, which will complete the frontage road network on the east side of US-95 all the way to SH-53.
• Coordinating with the Lakes Highway District as they complete a separate project to realign Old Highway 95 to Parks Road. Together, the projects will improve connectivity and provide users with more roadway options.
• Improving the US-95 and Parks Road intersection to handle increased traffic volumes due to the realignment of Old Highway 95.
• Maintaining connectivity and access to Old Highway 95 through Athol.
• Building compatibility with future corridor needs, including a possible future interchange.
• Providing alternate connections via frontage roads to help alleviate congestion on US-95 that stems from Silverwood Theme Park traffic.

Building on previous planning documents, such as the US-95 Garwood to Sagle Environmental Impact Statement, ITD increased the capacity and enhanced safety for all highway users along a 32-mile stretch of the US-95 corridor. The completed projects include the following:

• Expanding US-95 to a high speed, four-lane, divided highway north through the Granite Hill project.
• Constructing the Athol and Bunco interchanges.
• Adding an overpass at Garwood Road.

This project will be another step in the process! The environmental impact statement identified the US-95 and Parks Road area as a location for a future interchange. However, to address safety concerns, ITD is building this project to capitalize on the opportunity to coordinate with the Lakes Highway District on its Old Highway 95 realignment project. This coordinated effort helps ensure the work being done now will be compatible with a future interchange.