‘We know it’s a pain.’ Boise is choked by road restrictions and closures. Here’s why.

The beating heart of Boise is ... congested.

Lane restrictions and closures for road work on Idaho Street, ongoing projects around St. Luke’s Boise Medical Center and Fort Boise Community Center, pockets of utility work, and special events such as the X Games qualifier have turned Downtown into a slow-moving obstacle course of detours and orange signs and cones.

It’s a frustrating slog for motorists. Cars lined up on Idaho Street on Wednesday afternoon as skateboarders, bicyclists and scooters buzzed about.

“If you’re trying to walk or drive in downtown Boise right now — just don’t,” one local resident said on Twitter Wednesday afternoon. “Go home. It’s better there.”

“Few people know this, but the French term for ‘Les Bois’ means ‘road closed,’ ” another person tweeted Thursday morning.

The good news: One of the main arterials through Downtown — 9th Street — should be back open early next week, according to Cody Homan, project manager for the Ada County Highway District. Both 9th and 10th streets are currently blocked at Idaho, which is also a busy road.

About 16,000 vehicles travel on that section of 9th Street every day, ACHD traffic counts show.

“We’re shooting for Monday, Tuesday at the latest, to get it all wrapped up,” Homan said of construction on the south side of Idaho Street at the intersection with 9th.

The bad news: 9th Street will be closed again when they replace the asphalt on the north side of Idaho Street. But it will be only for a day or two, after the July 4 holiday.

The Idaho Street project is part of an annual road maintenance program. Crews are replacing the asphalt and pedestrian ramps, focusing on four to five blocks at a time. First Street through 4th Street was finished the week of June 17, and work began on 8th through 11th on June 24. The last segment will be 11th through 16th streets, and that’s expected to begin in a couple of weeks.

Their work was slowed by what they found when they removed the old road.

“We hit some very wet material underneath that we didn’t get with our technical reports,” Homan said. “We had to dig all of that out and replace it with new material. We also hit trolley lines. We would have expected our ground-penetrating radar to detect that, but that was missed. That’s being cut out.”

ACHD officials recommend that motorists, bicyclists and others use alternative routes, if possible. If you can’t avoid it, follow the posted detours, said spokeswoman Natalie Shaver.

“We always ask for patience,” she said. “We know it’s frustrating. We all have to drive through it, too. We know it’s a pain.”

ACHD has an interactive online map that you can consult for the latest information on lane restrictions and closures.

Better signage, so you can divert?

The city has fielded a few calls from residents upset about the gridlock, spokesman Mike Journee told the Statesman on Wednesday.

“It’s mostly about the need for more signage,” he said in a phone interview. “We have respectfully asked ACHD to, on the periphery, the feeder streets, to do some signage there, to let people know what’s coming — what challenge lays ahead of them before they get Downtown.

“So they can choose a different route.”

Journee said the city also asked if crews could do as much of the construction work as possible at night.

Lynn Hightower, a spokeswoman for the Downtown Boise Association, said no one looks forward to seeing more of “those darn orange cones.”



“But road work is something that’s expected in a busy city center and fortunately is done pretty quick and on time, to the credit of the construction crews,” she said via email. “Typically, a lot of signage is up and emails go out with notice ahead of time.”

It’s a busy time of year, with thousands of tourists visiting Downtown for special events such as the X Games qualifier at Rhodes Skate Park on Friday and Saturday. About 12,000 people attended the qualifier last year.

There are lane restrictions and closures in that area through Sunday.

“A good number of the downtown businesses appreciate the great energy that special events bring, because in addition to building community, they help build their business as well with all the folks walking or riding by their front door,” Hightower said.

X Games closures

Here’s a list of the closures in effect through Sunday afternoon:

• 15th Street: closed from W. River Street to W. Grove Street.
• Grand Avenue: closed and signed at S. 15th Street.
• S. 16th Street and S. Americana Blvd: closed between W. Grove Street and W. River Street.
• W. Front Street: closed from 14th St. to 16th Street.

Also, there will be lane and shoulder closures on the inbound and outbound Connector on Friday and Saturday.

Farmers market closures

Capital City Public Market runs 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on Saturdays.

Normal street closures for the market: 8th Street, between Main and Bannock streets, and Idaho Street between Capitol Boulevard and 9th Street.

Due to the ongoing construction, this weekend the market will be on 8th Street, from Main to Jefferson, and a one block of Idaho Street that is not under construction, said Mona Warchol, executive director of the market.

This story was originally published June 27, 2019 at 3:13 PM.