Here’s the plan to fight summer congestion at one of Idaho’s most-troublesome intersections
Traffic delays persist on summer weekends at the intersection of Idaho 55 and Banks-Lowman Road, and the Idaho Transportation Department has announced new plans to improve the flow of vehicles along the intersection in Boise County.
The intersection between two two-lane roads has no traffic light and has been the site of deadly traffic accidents in the past. On crowded days along the route between Boise and McCall, it can be difficult for vehicles at the stop sign on Banks-Lowman Road turning onto Idaho 55, a fast-moving highway, to find room to safely merge.
After reviewing historical traffic data, ITD has scheduled to have traffic guards directing vehicles on June 20, July 5, every subsequent Sunday in July and on Sept. 6, which is Labor Day, according to a news release.
While ITD usually deploys flaggers on Memorial Day, too, the department says analysis of past data dating to 2015 has led to a change in priorities. In the past, ITD scheduled flaggers for Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day, according to ITD spokesperson Jake Melder. This year, the department is doubling the number of flag days to six and is prioritizing what it predicts will be the busiest weekends.
“We removed Memorial Day from our flagging schedule after we looked at years of travel data,” Caleb Lakey, district administrator of ITD’s Southwest Idaho Office, said in a press release. “We confirmed the reports of our maintenance staff that there are, on average, more cars on the road any given Sunday in July and the first weeks of August than Memorial Day. A lot of that is weather dependent, and we may still see a lot of people on the road if we have warm temperatures early on.”
ITD initially planned to have a flagger present the first Sunday in August, but decided instead to prioritize June 20 because of two events happening nearby that weekend: the Garden Valley Stampede and North Fork Championship, Melder told the Idaho Statesman by phone.
The department only has funds to post flaggers for six days this summer, Melder said. The money will come from ITD’s maintenance and operations budget.
Travelers moving between Boise and Cascade should expect “significant” delays due to the tricky intersection, according to the release.
“Ultimately, both highways and the intersection simply reach capacity as everyone who spent the weekend in the mountains returns home to the Treasure Valley,” Lakey said. “I urge those travelers to consider taking alternate routes or making their return outside the peak time of 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Otherwise, plan to have some delay.”
In 2018, a Nampa woman was killed when she turned onto Idaho 55 from Banks-Lowman Road and failed to yield to oncoming traffic. Her vehicle was struck by a passenger van towing a trailer with 12 juveniles on board. Six children were taken to a hospital.
ITD recommends travelers heading north consider taking alternate routes. McCall and New Meadows are reachable by U.S. 95, while Stanley and Lowman can be accessed via Idaho 21.
This summer, ITD is also adding new signage advising slower speeds before the problematic intersection in an attempt to improve safety, according to the release.
The department began a review of the intersection in March and is partnering with the Western Federal Land Division of the Federal Highway Administration to improve the crossroads, the release said.
The department hopes to ask for public input on the project at the end of 2021 or in early 2022, Melder said. ITD plans to have a completed preliminary design by the fall of 2022.
