Improvements to Interstate 15/86 interchange to begin next year

The Idaho Transportation Department is gearing up to begin improvements to the “Flying Y” interchange system that connects Interstates 86 and 15 located on the Pocatello-Chubbuck border.

ITD is currently in the design phase of the project, which will involve roadway, ramp and bridge upgrades at the junction of Interstate 86 and Interstate 15, and building a new separated pedestrian and bicycle path. Construction on the project is slated to begin in mid-2022 and conclude in 2025, ITD says.

“This project aims to improve safety, mobility and economic opportunity by upgrading the roadway to current engineering standards, replacing the aging and functionally obsolete bridge structures and improving the turning movements for motorists for better overall function of the system interchange,” ITD said about the project.

Chubbuck Mayor Kevin England says he “is just tickled” to see this project coming to fruition. The first time England heard anything about this project was over a decade ago, he said.

“This is going to be a great project, no doubt about it,” England said. “I’ve been involved in this discussion for a decade now, so it’s a long time coming. The way that the Flying Y is set up right now is not legal, though it was grandfathered in. Anyone trying to get on at Pocatello Creek to come into Chubbuck it sometimes feels like you’re taking your life into your own hands, so this project will definitely make our communities safer.”

Who's going to use their bike to commute on a regular basis in Idaho when half the year there is snow on the ground?

If you're going to have to use a car a lot of the year, then use a car every day.

Some private company can build a facility for people who want to ride bikes that is isolated from cars in order to be safer and pay for itself.

It's these seemingly "practical" measures like bike paths used by some, but paid for by everyone that creeps into California-style socialism.

If you can prevent bike paths then you might be able to make Idaho less desirable to Californians and they will go somewhere else.

If you're of a mindset that bike paths are a great idea that should be funded by everyone, then maybe you have already been Californicated. When I moved to Colorado back in the 90's I noticed that most cities had publicly funded gyms. This was at a time when there were numerous private companies providing a wide range of gyms such as 24hr Fitness, Bally's, Sports Connection, etc. There were also covenant communities, gun ranges being sold off to prop up more cookie cutter houses, small towns with dirt roads being paved, new urban communities being built where once there were farms. This is not the Colorado I expected when I moved there. The supposed fierce independence and conservatism was being transformed into collectivism one "practical" project at a time.

The same fate awaits Idaho.

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