New Revenue Sources Needed For Highways Road From Emmett To Indian Valley Among The Projected $4 Billion In Improvements
State lawmakers want millions to improve U.S. 95 and other highways, and to get it they are considering new personal property taxes, higher vehicle registration fees and increased fuel taxes.
One project they want to fund is a new $70 million road from Emmett to Indian Valley that would cut a half-hour off a trip from Boise to North Idaho. Other proposals include widening U.S. 95 and adding passing lanes.
Idaho Senate Transportation Chairman Evan Frasure, R-Pocatello, said Friday that he and other lawmakers plan to introduce a package of road-improvement bills when the Legislature reconvenes in January.
“We’re looking at political viability and what we can do this year to correct these problems,” Frasure said at a town hall meeting.
U.S. 95 stretches for 538 miles. It has drawn more attention than other roads because it is Idaho’s primary north-south route. Accidents took more than 100 lives from 1990 to 1994.
State Sen. Jack Riggs, R-Coeur d’Alene, has proposed widening the highway, adding paved shoulders and straightening it. U.S. 95 would be expanded to four lanes in and around population centers, including the Treasure Valley, Moscow and Lewiston, and would get passing lanes at least every four miles.
Other proposals include building the 50-mile highway between Emmett and Indian Valley. That road would connect with U.S. 95 just south of Council.
It also would cut through an area now served by an unpaved road, and could interfere with wildlife migration, said John McCarthy, conservation director for the Idaho Conservation League. It also could displace animals and bring more people to the area to hunt, he said.
A U.S. Senate bill under consideration could help Idaho’s road-funding dilemma. It would increase Idaho’s federal funding under one program from $125 million a year to $180 million. A House version of the bill would give Idaho less, however, and the two houses have yet to reach an agreement.
Residents said hiking state registration fees, now $24 to $48 a year depending on a vehicle’s age, would be more palatable than higher fuel taxes, Frasure said. A $36 increase Frasure suggested Friday would generate about $43 million a year from 1.2 million cars and trucks registered in Idaho.
xxxx HIGHWAY NEEDS Idaho highways need more than $4 billion in repairs and expansions, including about $400 million during the next 10 years on U.S. 95, according to Idaho Senate Transportation Chairman Evan Frasure.