Bypass gains planners’ support

Over the objections of numerous North Idaho residents, the Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization voted 6-3 Thursday to endorse acquisition of rights of way for the eventual construction of a 9-mile highway bypass along Huetter Road.

The proposed roadway would run north and south between U.S. Highways 41 and 95, originating north of Seltice Way in Post Falls and connecting to Highway 53 east of Rathdrum.

The goal is to relieve future congestion on existing highways as a result of residential and commercial growth, which is expected to continue.

Construction of the proposed six-lane, 60 mph expressway wouldn’t begin until about 2030, said Glenn Miles, KMPO’s executive director.

But acquiring property rights for future road construction must start now, said most board members. It’s estimated that swaths of land up to 770 feet wide would be needed to accommodate the road, its shoulders and bike paths.

“Kootenai County is a boom, and it’s going to keep going,” said KMPO board member Jimmie Dorsey, of the Eastside Highway District. “It’s up to this body to accommodate growth as it comes.

“Our job is to preserve the corridor opportunity … before it all grows up, so as this country grows we’re not gridlocked like Seattle is.”

About 50 people packed the Idaho Transportation Department’s headquarters in Coeur d’Alene for the meeting. Most who addressed the board said they opposed the project. They said they’d prefer alternatives to reduce traffic woes.

Suggestions included improving and widening Highway 95, improving Highway 41, creating the bypass along either Greensferry or Pleasant View roads, and going back to the drawing board.

A Huetter Road bypass, opponents told the board, would be another “scar” on the prairie and a high-priced “bridge to nowhere.” And acquiring rights of way would significantly lower the value of homes and lots along the future route, they said.

Now that the measure has won KMPO’s approval, it will be up to the various jurisdictions governing the corridor to implement the recommendations in their respective master plans and require developers to set aside affected land for the road, Miles said.

More analysis of other alternatives, environmental impact studies, decisions on access points and preliminary designs would need to be considered before the project is adopted, according to KMPO documents.