Boise-area commuters are facing more traffic, longer commutes. These are the 10 worst roads

Josh Petersen has been commuting from his home in west Meridian to his job at Clearwater Analytics in downtown Boise for almost a decade. In recent years, he says, the drive time has gotten longer.

Petersen said it depends on what time he leaves for work, but his commute on Interstate 84 from the Ten Mile interchange to downtown could take anywhere from 20 minutes to 45 minutes.

The American Community Survey, a demographics survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau each year, found that the mean commute time for Meridian residents has increased since 2014. The mean commute time in 2014, according to the survey, was 20.2 minutes. In 2021 it was 21.6 minutes.

Congestion has increased on Treasure Valley roads in the last two years, according to data from the Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho, or Compass.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and work-from-home orders resulted in “significant” reductions in traffic volumes and roughly a 50%, or 15-mile, reduction in congested miles on interstate and state highways compared with 2019, Compass said in its 2020 congestion management report.

The percentage of highly congested roadway segments increased from 2020 to 2021, though percentages of medium to highly congested roadway in 2021 remained lower than before the pandemic, Compass reports.

Growth brings more people, houses, cars

The rise reflects the Treasure Valley’s continuing population growth. The estimated populations of Ada and Canyon counties totaled 761,000 people in 2021, Compass said. The number of residential building permits issued topped 9,600, the most in over a decade, with most growth occurring in western Ada County and eastern Canyon County.

Interstate 84 includes one of the 10 most-congested roadway segments in the Treasure Valley in 2021, according to Compass. Also among the top 10 are segments of U.S. 20/26, or Chinden Boulevard, and Idaho 55, or Eagle Road.

Petersen’s experience commuting is in lockstep with what the data shows. He said the worst congestion was in 2014-15, when there was construction on I-84.

Growing up, Petersen, 34, lived near the corner of Chinden Boulevard and Eagle Road, in what was then the northeastern outskirts of Meridian. While in high school, he commuted to a job in downtown Boise. He said he used to take Chinden in those days, when it was one lane each way. Today, he said, the road “bottlenecks” between Linder and Locust Grove roads.

Petersen said his commute today is “tedious for sure.”

“I love being downtown,” Petersen said. “I love working here, and I love the suburban lifestyle out where I live, and so I’m happy to make the commute. But there are some options that would spread out the traffic so that it’s not such a disaster every single morning.”

According to Compass, three routes have had the most significant growth in traffic volumes over the last five years:

• Idaho 55, or Karcher Road.
• U.S. Highway 20/26, or Chinden Boulevard, near the Ada-Canyon county line.
• Idaho 69, or Meridian Road.

Canyon County commuters from Nampa and Caldwell have it worse than Meridian commuters, according to Compass. Segments of Idaho 55, Nampa/Caldwell Boulevard and Garrity Boulevard are among five of the top 10 most-congested segments that are at least half a mile long.

Those roads are all in Nampa, a city that saw significant residential growth in 2021. Construction projects along I-84 between Nampa and Caldwell have contributed to the congestion, Compass said.

Treasure Valley’s 10 most-congested road segments

The table and map below shows the 10 most-congested highway segments that are at least half a mile long in 2021 in the Treasure Valley, according to Compass. They were measured during their peak periods. They are ranked by travel-time ratio. For example, a ratio of 3 means it takes three times as long to drive a segment as it would under free-flow traffic conditions. The table includes state and federal highways, not roads maintained by the Ada County Highway District or Canyon County’s city street departments and local highway districts.

Aaron Bray, another Meridian-to-Boise commuter, said it takes him 25 minutes to drive from his home south of Roaring Springs Water Park to Gowen Field in Boise during rush hour. It would typically take him 12 minutes without traffic, he said. When there are traffic jams it can take even longer, he said.

Bray takes the interstate, too. He said the worst congestion happens on the Meridian Road entrance to the freeway.

“There’s just too many cars flowing from too many places into one lane,” he said by phone.

Bray said he would like to see some of the most-congested on-ramps have stoplights to regulate the flow of cars onto the interstate.

Petersen has his own ideas for traffic mitigation. He argues that besides the interstate, there is no other way to get from Canyon County to Boise reasonably fast. He said Boise needs a beltway, a highway encircling the city.

“If somebody with authority was like, ‘Hey, we’re going to turn State Street into just a belt route, and it’s going to do a lap around downtown at the airport and then all the way back to Kuna and Caldwell, I would say, ‘Raise my taxes, sign me up,’ ” he said.

This story was originally published January 29, 2023 at 4:00 AM.

Rachel Spacek

Idaho Statesman

Rachel Spacek is a former reporter covering Meridian, Eagle, Star and Canyon city and county governments for the Idaho Statesman.