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Lewiston delays final vote on 2026 Transportation CIP, staff to return March 9 after council revisions
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Summary
After a lengthy public hearing on the 2026 Transportation Capital Improvement Plan, the Lewiston City Council accepted public feedback, noted a pending $20 million federal BUILD grant submission and agreed to continue the CIP discussion and adoption at its March 9 meeting so members can propose ranking changes.
The Lewiston City Council on Monday heard a detailed presentation from Public Works Director Dustin Johnson on the proposed 2026 Transportation Capital Improvement Plan and elected to continue the item for more council amendments rather than adopt it that night.
Johnson reviewed recent and planned projects, funding strategies and the ranking criteria the city uses to evaluate projects (mobility, livability, safety, responsible governance and economic vitality). He told the council staff would submit a federal BUILD grant application the following day that could provide an early $20 million toward a major multimodal project and explained that projects such as 5th Street reconstruction, Snake River Avenue phase 2 and various sidewalk projects have been funded through a combination of grants, STBG allocations and local funds.
Councilors and members of the public raised several prioritization concerns, including heavy truck traffic and deterioration on Orchard-area roads (referred to in discussion as "Grama/Grail" segments), pothole hot spots on Bridal Avenue and a desire to accelerate a number of collector upgrades. Johnson said staff could re-rank projects based on council guidance and return a revised packet; council consensus favored postponing final adoption and reconvening the item at the regular meeting on Monday, March 9.
The postponement gives council members time to submit specific requests for rank changes and allows staff to draft proposed amendments for a subsequent vote. Johnson also noted that some projects rely on multi-year grant cycles and that the city—s annual STBG allocation (about $500,000) covers only a small portion of the funding needed for large reconstruction projects.
Next steps: council members to submit proposed revisions to Director Johnson; staff will return a revised CIP for discussion and potential adoption on March 9.
