ITD again asks $9.6M to move District 4 headquarters to Twin Falls; lawmakers push back

The Idaho Transportation Department asked the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee to reconsider relocating District 4 headquarters from Shoshone to Twin Falls, a $9.6 million request that drew sharp questioning from legislators who declined the move last year.

Senator Cook pressed Director Scott Stokes for justification, noting the Legislature, the House, the Senate and the governor all voted last year to reject the relocation. “I really have a hard problem that we're revisiting something that we made a decision on last year,” Cook said during the hearing, citing the committee’s earlier review of building assessments.

ITD officials told the committee the recommendation to move comes from the Transportation Board and department staff and is driven by where the department believes long‑term public service should be delivered. Director Scott Stokes said the department prefers a location “closer to the growing community of Twin Falls” for public access and service delivery.

Lawmakers pressed the department on costs and condition of the existing Shoshone building. Representative Price noted committee language that a minimum of $1 million was to be spent on Shoshone; Director Stokes said repairs are underway, primarily replacing roofing materials and windows, and that work is in final design and expected to be installed this summer.

Senator Cook described on‑site observations and commute data the committee reviewed: 71 employees are tied to the Shoshone location, and committee analysis showed average commutes of about 29 minutes to Shoshone and 27 minutes to the proposed Twin Falls location; median one‑way commutes were reported as 37 minutes to Shoshone and 25 minutes to Twin Falls, a 12‑minute difference. Senator Cook questioned whether that commute‑time delta warranted a $9.6 million relocation.

Department response and next steps

Director Stokes told the committee that the department had discussed employee work patterns and service delivery and that the recommendation reflects a long‑term service decision for the growing Twin Falls area. He said employees sometimes take ITD vehicles home when projects require travel and that being closer to project concentrations can increase long‑term efficiency.

The committee did not change its prior decision at the hearing. Members asked for more information on staffing patterns, project travel needs, and the ongoing maintenance work at the Shoshone facility before making a funding decision.