Boise reviews Ada County Highway District five-year project list; staff urge feedback by March 18

Bree Brush, who works in the mayor's office on transportation and climate policy, reviewed Boise's requested projects for the Ada County Highway District five-year plan and explained how ACHD programs projects and prioritizes between capital roads/intersections and safety/compliance initiatives.

Brush said ACHD considers safety first, then connections to active transportation, alignment with the pathways plan, proximity to schools, existing funding constraints, and whether a project already has concept or design work that would allow faster delivery. She noted the city typically expects one to two projects a year to be programmed for design and one to three for construction.

Staff highlighted several top projects: the State Street/Pierce Park widening (from five to seven lanes to support high-ridership corridors), the five-mile overpass (identified as the oldest A‑84 overpass needing improvement), Nez Perce corridor safety improvements (where a fatality occurred last year), Bannock Bikeway and the Malad sidewalk. Brush said the city recently submitted a rapid build planning grant application that, if awarded, would provide 5,600,000.0 in federal funds with matched local and partner contributions.

She asked the council to send feedback to ACHD by March 18; ACHD will post scoring results in the spring, open a draft for public comment, and seek final adoption by the ACHD commission in September. Council members asked about how state legislation has changed alternatives for some projects and how the city should balance keeping projects on the list versus removing them when paths forward are unclear.

Brush encouraged council to highlight projects they want emphasized in the city's letter to ACHD. The mayor thanked staff for a rapid grant turnaround on Lake Hazel and closed the work session with a break until 6:00 p.m.