Commutes to Boise could get easier. How Idaho plans to use federal funds for transit

A critical transportation route in Boise will undergo a multi-million-dollar overhaul after receiving a federal grant to add a series of long-sought after bicycle, pedestrian and bus upgrades along State Street.

The U.S. Department of Transportation granted $8.5 million to the State Street Premium Corridor project, which includes safety, transit service and traffic flow improvements over a 6 1/2-mile stretch of the roadway between Eagle and downtown Boise. The agency announced the recipients of the competitive grant process on Thursday.

“We are proud to support so many outstanding infrastructure projects in communities large and small, modernizing America’s transportation systems to make them safer, more affordable, more accessible, and more sustainable,” U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said in a news release. “Using funds from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this year we are supporting more projects than ever before.”

With the funds, Treasure Valley bus operator Valley Regional Transit is poised to add amenities that include shelters and seating, real-time schedule information and ticketing machines, and Americans with Disability Act accessibility improvements at more than a dozen existing stops between North Fifth Street in downtown Boise and Bogart Lane on the Eagle-Garden City border.

On-route charging stations for the bus system’s ongoing transition to an electric fleet also are part of the planned upgrades.

“This grant will allow VRT and our partners to make much-needed investments in a crucial transportation corridor,” Kelli Badesheim, Valley Regional Transit’s executive director, said in a news release. “We will experience improved transit speed and reliability, enhanced accessibility and safety, and more comfortable and consistent travel for anyone using State Street.”

A Valley Regional Transit bus drives along State Street at 26th Street in Boise, on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022.
A Valley Regional Transit bus drives along State Street at 26th Street in Boise, on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022.

All told, the project is set for more than $10.5 million in improvements. The grant award required a 20% match from the applicant and its partners. The city of Boise is providing the bulk of those funds, at about $1.3 million.

Boise Mayor Lauren McLean called the grant award for the State Street project the result of collaborative effort to address a pressing community need.

“Getting people moving more easily on State Street has been one of our top priorities, so we’ve made it a key focal point in our work with local and federal partners,” she said in a statement. “This investment in one of our city’s major transportation corridors is a great example of what we can accomplish by working together.”

Similar Valley Regional Transit improvements already have been implemented earlier this year at five bus stops on other system routes along Main Street and West Fairview Avenue.

A recently upgraded Valley Regional Transit bus stop located at Main Street and North 17th Street in Boise.
A recently upgraded Valley Regional Transit bus stop located at Main Street and North 17th Street in Boise.

Construction of the State Street project is scheduled to begin in summer 2024 and finish in summer 2026. The grant proposal envisions the bus stops and all of its amenities would be open by no later than fall 2026.

“The State Street corridor is the top public transportation priority in Ada and Canyon Counties’ long-range transportation plan,” Matt Stoll, executive director of COMPASS, the Treasure Valley’s transportation planning agency, said in a statement. “The improvements funded through this grant will help meet long-range plan goals while connecting underserved populations with jobs, schools, shopping and more.”

Upgrades years in the making

A scaled-down State Street bus stop improvement project was included for $2 million of funding in an earlier version of the federal infrastructure package last fall, submitted by U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, as an earmark in the legislation. It was dropped from the package that later cleared Congress with bipartisan support.

Simpson, whose congressional district includes Boise, ultimately voted against the bill that President Joe Biden signed into law, which is known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The law took effect in November.

“I strongly support investing in our nation’s infrastructure needs, and have long supported projects in Boise and across Idaho,” Simpson said Thursday in an emailed statement to the Idaho Statesman. “While I supported individual aspects, overall, this package cobbled together a series of one-time pay-fors that did not even cover the entire cost of the bill, which is why I could not support final passage.”

A Valley Regional Transit bus drives past a newly upgraded stop at West Fairview Avenue and Sorth 24th Street in downtown Boise before it was operational on May 5, 2022. The bus stop incorporates raised concrete next to the bicycle lane, painted in green, as a buffer between cyclists and motorists.
A Valley Regional Transit bus drives past a newly upgraded stop at West Fairview Avenue and Sorth 24th Street in downtown Boise before it was operational on May 5, 2022. The bus stop incorporates raised concrete next to the bicycle lane, painted in green, as a buffer between cyclists and motorists.

The State Street project was one of four grantees in Idaho through a department program known as Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, or RAISE. The state’s total take was nearly $30.9 million in program funding.

The other U.S. Department of Transportation awards in Idaho include $5 million each to the city of Nampa and the Ada County Highway District for two planning and design projects, which include sidewalk, bicycle pathway, road and bridge, rail and transit upgrades in the Treasure Valley.

“This project is an investment in not only our infrastructure, but our community members,” ACHD Commission President Mary May said in a statement. “Our team continues to innovate by identifying creative solutions for transportation challenges throughout the valley.”

The Idaho Transportation Department received a $12.4 million grant through the RAISE program for transit-oriented improvements at four intersections along Idaho 75 in the Wood River Valley. ITD also was a co-sponsor of Valley Regional Transit’s application for the State Street enhancements.

“These funds will go a long way toward much needed inter-modal connection improvements in this vital transit corridor,” Ron Duran, ITD’s public transportation manager, said in a statement.

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