Road plan directs most money to Boise area

BOISE – Legislative budget writers approved a controversial highway bonding plan Wednesday that, like an earlier plan, directs the lion’s share of next year’s $246 million in bonds to freeway expansions in the Boise area.

Rep. Frank Henderson, R-Post Falls, said his successful plan targets the bond proceeds for work that’s ready to go. “It’s not some figment of my imagination – I didn’t invent those numbers,” he told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee. “Those numbers were established by professionals.”

Henderson said he has spent eight weeks meeting with state transportation officials and contractors to work out the amounts to direct to each of six highway projects around the state. But other JFAC members strongly protested the idea of naming projects at all, arguing that that amounts to “micro-managing” the Transportation Department.

Sen. Steve Bair, R-Blackfoot, offered an alternative plan that added up to the same dollar amount – $246 million – but didn’t identify any specific projects. “This agency knows what to do – they are professionals,” Bair told the committee.

But Henderson’s plan passed on a 12-8 vote. In a rare House-Senate split on the 20-member joint committee, all the “no” votes came from senators. Ten of the 12 who voted for it were House members – and they were joined by two senators, Sens. Russ Fulcher, R-Meridian, and Stan Bastian, R-Eagle, who both are from the Treasure Valley.

“I think it sets a precedent about how high-priority transportation project decisions are going to be made in the state, and in that scenario, North Idaho loses,” said Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint. North Idaho JFAC members split, with Keough, Sen. Joyce Broadsword, R-Sagle, and Sen. Jim Hammond, R-Post Falls, voting against Henderson’s proposal. Reps. George Eskridge, R-Dover, and Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, joined Henderson in supporting it.

Eskridge said people in his district have been counting on construction of the Garwood to Sagle freeway project on U.S. Highway 95, but delays have left landowners along the route in limbo. Without specifically targeting money to that project, Eskridge said he feared the project was at risk. “Putting these dollars in, that gives me some assurance that money is going to be spent on Garwood to Sagle land acquisition,” he said.

But Hammond noted that figures released by the Idaho Transportation Department at the start of the legislative session showed Garwood to Sagle getting $77 million from the bonding program, while Henderson’s plan sets aside only $23 million. Meanwhile, funding for freeway expansion between Meridian and Caldwell rose from $58 million to $126 million.

Keough noted that another road project, a new road from I-84 to Emmett in the Treasure Valley, gets $17 million under Henderson’s plan.

Henderson said that’s because an environmental study got done earlier than expected for that project, so land acquisition can start in the coming year.

The higher figures for the North Idaho project included an interchange at Lancaster to which North Idaho lawmakers have objected, plus adding a two-mile stretch of four-lane road to eliminate a bottleneck between the new project and existing roads. But Henderson said neither of those items was approved by lawmakers last year for inclusion in the bonding plan.

Broadsword urged against listing specific road projects in the bill. “We must resist the urge to meddle,” she said.

Henderson said, “There is no intent to micromanage.” His proposal allows transportation officials to move money among projects if needed, he said – just not to spend the money on any projects not already on the list.

The main change from Henderson’s earlier proposal is removal of a requirement for the Transportation Department to extend a multimillion-dollar management contract. Henderson said he included that clause earlier at the urging of the governor’s chief of staff, Jeff Malmen.

Former Gov. Dirk Kempthorne first proposed the “Connecting Idaho” bonding plan, intended to complete 30 years’ worth of major highway improvements in 10 years. But costs have escalated, and lawmakers have limited the amount of bonds; that has drastically trimmed back the amount of work the bonding plan can accomplish.

The bonding plan will come up for a vote in the Senate today, and possibly the House as well. It is the largest remaining issue lawmakers must resolve before ending this year’s legislative session.