Officials installing sign on Idaho 55 meant to reduce driver frustration
Transportation officials announced the installation plan for a new sign along Idaho Highway 55 that they hope will help reduce traffic frustrations on the busy road between Boise and McCall.
Crews will use a crane to install the overhead digital messaging sign starting at 10 a.m. Wednesday at mile marker 102 in Round Valley, just south of Cascade near the descent toward Rainbow Bridge, according to an Idaho Transportation Department news release.
The department said the sign should be operational by the end of the year.
The installation could last through Wednesday afternoon. Drivers should expect single-lane traffic and short delays, as well as an extended 15-minute closure while the structure is first lifted into place, the release said.
Drivers often experience limited cellphone service in the canyon in that area, making it difficult to know when and why there are delays on the highway along the Payette River.
“The new sign will make SH-55 safer by providing real-time alerts about wildfires, delays, and other emergencies along one of Idaho’s busiest mountain corridors,” the department said in the release.
The new sign is part of the department’s ongoing efforts to improve the travel experience along Idaho 55, which has seen sharp traffic increases recent years. The Idaho Transportation Department’s automatic counter north of Banks recorded an average of 6,251 vehicles per day in July 2010, and that number was up to 8,186 in July 2024.
Jason Brinkman, an Idaho Transportation Department district engineer, told the Idaho Statesman that Idaho 55 between Eagle and McCall saw “close to the most number of cars that you can fit through a given segment of the road in a given time period” during the summer of 2025.
