Compass executive director briefs Eagle council on region’s transportation needs and $5.4 billion shortfall
October 28, 2025 | Eagle, Ada County, Idaho
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Compass, the metropolitan planning organization for southwest Idaho, briefed the Eagle City Council on regional transportation projections on Oct. 28, with new executive director Craig Rayborn outlining long‑range planning work and a fiscal gap the region must close to avoid worsening congestion.
Rayborn told the council Compass compiles transportation data and coordinates planning among cities, counties and districts. His presentation included current and 2055 population and employment projections, a 2025 baseline congestion map, and the agency’s Communities in Motion long‑range transportation plan.
Rayborn said the plan identifies about $16.5 billion in transportation needs between now and 2050 but that only about $11.1 billion is currently programmed, leaving a roughly $5.4 billion shortfall — about $193 million per year. “We’re going to be focusing on increasing revenue and trying to address the growth impacts,” Rayborn told the council, and Compass plans a legislative strategy and a regional legislative summit to press the region’s needs during the upcoming legislative session.
Rayborn described Compass’s roles: long‑range multimodal planning, distributing federal transportation dollars, conducting technical studies, and helping local agencies find funding and coordinate projects such as State Highway 16 and a pedestrian bridge in Eagle’s North Channel that Compass supported with a $25,000 planning grant and later helped staff find roughly $4.3 million for construction.
He highlighted several ongoing Compass efforts — a regional safety action plan, a high‑capacity transit study, resiliency planning, and continued updates to Communities in Motion every five years. Rayborn said Compass’s resource development program accepts applications from member agencies (the current phase has a November 19 application deadline) and that staff expect to assist Eagle on projects including the South Channel pedestrian connection, the I‑44/Palmer interchange, and Linder Road widening.
Council members thanked Rayborn for the overview and said the report helped clarify Compass’s role in bringing state and federal funding to local projects. Rayborn encouraged local staff to coordinate with Compass and attend the group’s “Compass 101” primer sessions in January for a deeper briefing.
Rayborn’s presentation is informational; no council action or funding commitment was requested at Monday’s meeting.
Rayborn told the council Compass compiles transportation data and coordinates planning among cities, counties and districts. His presentation included current and 2055 population and employment projections, a 2025 baseline congestion map, and the agency’s Communities in Motion long‑range transportation plan.
Rayborn said the plan identifies about $16.5 billion in transportation needs between now and 2050 but that only about $11.1 billion is currently programmed, leaving a roughly $5.4 billion shortfall — about $193 million per year. “We’re going to be focusing on increasing revenue and trying to address the growth impacts,” Rayborn told the council, and Compass plans a legislative strategy and a regional legislative summit to press the region’s needs during the upcoming legislative session.
Rayborn described Compass’s roles: long‑range multimodal planning, distributing federal transportation dollars, conducting technical studies, and helping local agencies find funding and coordinate projects such as State Highway 16 and a pedestrian bridge in Eagle’s North Channel that Compass supported with a $25,000 planning grant and later helped staff find roughly $4.3 million for construction.
He highlighted several ongoing Compass efforts — a regional safety action plan, a high‑capacity transit study, resiliency planning, and continued updates to Communities in Motion every five years. Rayborn said Compass’s resource development program accepts applications from member agencies (the current phase has a November 19 application deadline) and that staff expect to assist Eagle on projects including the South Channel pedestrian connection, the I‑44/Palmer interchange, and Linder Road widening.
Council members thanked Rayborn for the overview and said the report helped clarify Compass’s role in bringing state and federal funding to local projects. Rayborn encouraged local staff to coordinate with Compass and attend the group’s “Compass 101” primer sessions in January for a deeper briefing.
Rayborn’s presentation is informational; no council action or funding commitment was requested at Monday’s meeting.
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