US-20 Ashton to SH-87 JC

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Welcome

Welcome to the US-20 Ashton to SH-87 JCT Summer 2024 Online Meeting.

The purpose of the meeting is to provide an update on the Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) study and share the latest alternatives.

Project Logo

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How to Navigate:

  • Click on the arrows on the bottom left and right side of your screen
  • Use the navigation menu at the left of the screen to revisit any part of the meeting
  • The pages are intended to be viewed in order to provide information about the study. However, you may use the tabs on the left side of the page to select any page

How to Participate:

  • Click through the slides to learn more about the project
  • Comments
    • Provide your comments at any time by clicking the “ COMMENT" button at the top right of the screen.
    • You can close the form to continue through the slides. Please make sure to hit the “Submit” button to confirm that your comment is sent to the project team.
  • The entire session should take less than 15 minutes to complete.

Study Background

What is a Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) Study?

The PEL process considers environmental, community, and economic goals early on while planning future projects.

This process is outlined by the Federal Highway Administration and weighs:

  • Transportation Issues and Priorities
  • Environmental Resources and Concerns
  • Stakeholder and Public Concerns

To learn more about the steps that take place during a PEL process, watch this video.

Why is the PEL study being conducted?

ITD is conducting the study to begin the long-term planning process for addressing traffic growth in the corridor. The study is looking at reducing the severity of crashes, improving access to businesses and properties along US-20 and addressing freight movement.

What is the vision for the study area?

ITD’s vision for the US-20 Ashton to SH-87 JCT corridor area is to provide safe and reliable travel for the planning year of 2050.

Collect: Collect information about the transportation system, local communities, and environment. Utilize: Use information to develop a range of potential transportation solutions called alternatives. Refine: Screen alternatives against certain factors such as safety, environmental impacts, and future development and planning. Categorize: Categorize alternatives into potential short-, mid-, and long-term transportation improvement projects in the study area. Develop: Develop a plan for funding and delivering projects. Post-PEL Project Next Steps: NEPA preliminary design 2–5 years, final design 3–5 years, and construction TBD. NEPA requires agencies to assess environmental effects of proposed actions prior to making decisions.

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Study Update

Since community meetings last summer, ITD enhanced its public involvement effort. In the past year, ITD has done the following:

  1. Met with additional stakeholders
  2. Held additional public meetings
  3. Collected additional traffic data to verify previously acquired projections used for screening
  4. Used the data to continue screening alternatives

The results of this Level 3 screening are presented here. Please view each alternative and share your feedback.

Map of the project area highlighted. Project beginning near Ashton and Ending at SH-87.

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Screening Process

The Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) study is looking at future, long-term (25+ years) transportation improvements. Since the study was initiated in 2021, ITD has developed a wide range of alternatives and screened those potential improvements to determine if they meet the project’s purpose and need.

Screening consists of evaluating each alternative against set criteria such as:

  1. Safety
  2. Traffic Operations
  3. Mobility
  4. Access Management
  5. Environmental Resources
  6. Constructability
Depiction of a funnel representing the screening process. Level 1 Evaluation, the largest and top level each getting decreasingly smaller: Develop initial range of concepts and screen based on ability to meet the purpose and need and fatal flaws. Level 2 Evaluation: Develop alternatives and compare alternatives to each other. Level 3 Evaluation: Group alternatives into logical scenarios and compare scenarios. Recommend alternatives for future NEPA study leading to the Future NEPA study. Purpose and Need and project goals developed between Level 1 and Level 2.

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Purpose and Need

What is a Purpose and Need?

The Purpose and Need provides the framework for evaluating the alternatives, leading to the study’s recommendations. The Purpose and Need is used to screen reasonable alternatives.

What is a Goal?

Goals are the desired project outcomes beyond the Purpose and Need that provide additional guidance for assessing reasonable alternatives, based on stakeholder and community input. Goals help balance environmental, transportation, and other community values.

The Ashton to SH-87 Junction section of US-20 was originally built in the 1950s. The current roadway does not provide sufficient traffic flow or passing opportunities to accommodate growing traffic volumes. The roadway has exceeded its service life and requires improvements to roadway and drainage features. Reconstruction will provide the opportunity to include design elements that reduce the severity and frequency of crashes.

Purpose

The purpose of the US-20 Ashton to SH-87 Junction Project is to enhance highway safety and operations by:

  • Decreasing crash severity
  • Addressing traffic growth in the corridor
  • Improving access management
  • Addressing regional freight movement

Need

The need for improvements to the US-20 corridor is to:

  • Address existing deficiencies, such as:
    • Safety
    • Travel time
    • Congestion
    • Delays
  • Prepare for future growth, economic development and tourism in the region
  • Address freight mobility

Goals

When consulting with the public and resource agencies, ITD identified additional goals to be considered as the study is developed:

  • Provide traffic calming measures or separation where the US-20 alignment runs through the developed areas
  • Provide multiuse solutions that provide a range of options for recreational users
  • Integrate wildlife movement strategies in the corridor

Alternatives

ITD used public and stakeholder input, planning best practices, and collaboration with agencies and jurisdictions to develop a range of alternatives that have been evaluated or “screened” to determine how to best meet the Purpose and Need of the study.

Alternatives that don’t meet the criteria or have fatal flaws are not carried forward for further analysis. Alternatives needing refinement are modified to reflect stakeholder and agency suggestions or regulatory requirements.

ITD anticipates incorporating recommendations made as part of this planning study into future NEPA studies, per Title 23 of the US Code, Part 168.

For more information, view the Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, and Multi-Use Crossing maps. If asked to sign in, please hit cancel and you will be entered into the site.

Level 1: Concepts/ideas. Level 2: Further developed and combined concepts/ideas into alternatives. Level 3: Recommended alternatives.

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Ashton to Caldera Rim (AC)

Check icon AC2

Map of Ashton alternatives AC2.

Check icon AC3

Map of Ashton alternatives AC3.

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Ashton to Caldera Rim (AC)
At-grade (AG), Grade separated (GS), Alternating Passing Lanes (APL)
Level 3 Alternatives Roadway Lanes Action Reasons
AC0 AG Carried Forward
  • No Action always advances.
AC2 AG & GS Carried Forward
  • Meets Purpose and Need.
  • Less impactful, uses more of the existing US-20 alignment.
  • Fewer impacts to subdivision to the east.
  • Smaller bridge in new location.
  • Current US-20 bridge likely needs to be replaced.
  • Similar construction impacts.
  • Limited access to/from US-20 to north Ashton.

Additional Items to Consider:

  • Access to north Ashton needs to be considered, such as half interchanges.
  • Not enough data to determine the least environmentally damaging practicable alternative (LEDPA) - wetlands may narrow down which one to move forward.
  • Modify to avoid conservation easement.
  • Consider adding deceleration lane on Ashton Hill in the SB direction.
AC3 AG & GS Carried Forward
  • Meets Purpose and Need.
  • More impactful, uses less of the existing US-20 alignment.
  • Two roadway barriers instead of one for deer crossing.
  • More impacts to subdivision to the east.
  • Larger bridge in new location.
  • Current US-20 bridge does not need to be replaced.
  • Similar construction impacts.
  • Better access to/from US-20 for north Ashton (existing US-20 used as access road).

Additional Items to Consider:

  • Access to north Ashton needs to be considered, such as half interchanges.
  • Not enough data to determine LEDPA - wetlands may narrow down which one to move forward.
  • Modify to avoid conservation easements.
  • Consider adding deceleration lane on Ashton Hill in the SB direction.

Alternating Passing Lanes

Why did the stakeholder screening group agree this option is least beneficial and should not be recommended for environmental studies and related costs?:

  • Doesn’t meet FHWA Purpose and Need requirements including safety and mobility.
  • Traffic data currently indicates high seasonal volumes and by 2050 excessive congestion and delays.
  • Designers have found this inconsistent lanes design creates high risk crash zones for traffic in both directions.
  • The other alternatives per reviewers eliminate the above risks and have more safety and mobility benefits for the investment over decades helping the community and US20 travelers.
  • ITD experts are available to discuss these traffic issues and answer questions.
Map of project area with the layout of alternating-passing-lanes detailed.

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Traffic Data

Icon of wrecked car

ITD will design improvements to address peak volumes and reduce congestion and delays

Traffic volume graph. For details, contact Gregg Bowman or email comments@us20ashtonto87.com

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Multi-Use Crossings

ITD is evaluating:

  • Multi-use crossing opportunities at trails, pathways, and bridge locations that intersect US-20
    • Cyclists
    • Pedestrians
    • Snowmobilers
    • ATV/UTV riders
    • Equestrians
    • Snowshoers
    • Fishermen and other sportsmen
    • Hikers and other trail users
  • Wildlife crossing infrastructure
    • ITD is evaluating movement and wildlife migration information. Technical assistance is being provided by the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Idaho Fish and Game.
Graphic and image detailing a multi-use_crossing.

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Environmental Considerations/11 Criteria

Alternatives will be evaluated through a screening process to determine how well they meet the project’s draft purpose and need. The screening process includes evaluating each alternative based on the following 11 environmental criteria.

  1. Visual Resources
  2. Agricultural and Forest Resources
  3. Air Quality
  4. Biological Resources
  5. Cultural Resources
  6. Geology and Soils
  7. Hazards and Hazardous Materials
  8. Hydrology and Water Quality
  9. Land Use and Transportation Planning
  10. Noise
  11. Social and Economic Resources

What's Next?

Project schedule: For details, contact Gregg Bowman or email comments@us20ashtonto87.com

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Stay Involved

Please share ideas about the project. Public input is an important part of the decision-making process along with technical information and engineering best-practices.

For more information, visit the project page.

Comments

If you have questions please contact the project team.

Use the comment button at the top right of this meeting to view the comment form where you can submit comments. You can also submit comments via email to comments@us20ashtonto87.com
or mail them to:

ITD District 6 C/O Gregg Bowman
206 N. Yellowstone Highway
Rigby, ID 83442

While your comments are always welcome, they can be best utilized if received by September 5, 2024.

Comment
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While your comments are always welcome, they can be best utilized if received by September 5, 2024.