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Idaho Transportation Department outlines phased US‑91 widening; construction money earmarked for 2031
Summary
Idaho Transportation Department staff briefed Bannock County commissioners on the US‑91 Siphon Road to Reservation Road corridor: designers plan to widen several segments to five lanes, add sidewalks and preserve pavement where funding is insufficient to widen the entire route; a public meeting is set for March 6.
Idaho Transportation Department staff and their consultants presented a conceptual design and schedule Tuesday for the US‑91 Siphon Road to Reservation Road project, saying the work will include lane widening, curb, gutter and sidewalks and that construction funding is currently slated for 2031.
The presentation said the corridor work ties into a separate project to the south that narrows and then widens Yellowstone Avenue through Parkland; the ITD‑backed plan would add a traffic signal at the Siphon/Yellowstone intersection, widen the segment between Siphon and Tie E to five lanes and add sidewalks, and perform pavement rehabilitation from Tie E to Reservation Road where full widening is not funded.
“We're just in a very conceptual base stage of this project,” said Lauren O'Connor of RBCI, the outreach contractor. Mike McKee of Horace Engineers described the work as three linked projects: concrete repair farther south, the Parkland Siphon widening to five lanes, and the US‑91 segment being presented to the board.
Beau Frater, ITD project manager, said the team expects to shift some intersections to the east to avoid canal structures and that the preferred widening would occur on the east side where a farm field provides room. He said the design team is attempting to coordinate utilities and right‑of‑way needs so the project would be ready should funding become available earlier than 2031.
ITD representatives told commissioners they are scheduling a public meeting on March 6 at Ivy Elementary School to gather public input and meet with property owners individually as design advances. They said the current construction dollars are set aside for fiscal year 2031 and that the project previously had a different slot (slated for 2027) but was pushed back.
Commissioners asked about coordination with other regional pavement and interchange projects in Blackfoot. ITD staff said they are aware of near‑term work in Blackfoot and have been discussing shipping and detour routing with affected businesses and agencies.
The presentation included these key implementation details: the corridor will be widened primarily to the east to avoid a small canal running parallel to US‑91; the Siphon/Yellowstone intersection will receive a new signal and alignment shifts; sidewalks will be added on widened segments; and where funding is insufficient the team will perform a mill‑and‑inlay pavement rehabilitation rather than full widening.
The project team said they will continue one‑on‑one property owner meetings and outreach while completing environmental and right‑of‑way tasks to keep the project “construction‑ready” if funds arrive earlier than planned.
