SH-16: The Answer to Idaho's Traffic Problems
Hey, Dave Edwards, Treasure Valley Dave here in Nampa, Idaho. Today, I want to find out what’s going on in the Treasure Valley, particularly with the SH-16, a government project that aims to ease traffic congestion in Idaho. It’s essential, and I’m excited about it. What do you think?
Traffic in the Treasure Valley
So what’s the issue here in the Treasure Valley with traffic, and what are they trying to do? Well, let’s take a look.
So here’s the Treasure Valley, and here’s the road that we’re talking about. Here is Highway 16, which comes out from Emmett down to Star. This is about 14 miles from Emmett down here to Highway 44.
When you zoom in, you can see it’s an excellent highway. It’s got a couple of passing lanes and whatnot.
Problem with Highway 16
Do you see Highway 16? It comes down to Highway 20/26 or Chinden Boulevard and stops. You can’t go through the road, and McDermott comes up on the backside.
The government is looking at extending this 16 down to I-84.
Highway 16 Extension in Idaho
So, what does that mean?
Right now, we need good north-south avenues or corridors for traffic. The biggest one is likely Highway 55 at Eagle Road. And if you’ve ever been here to visit, you know that Eagle Road is the busiest road in the state.
It’s different from Watt Avenue in Sacramento, but it’s pretty busy for Idaho, and it might slow you down a bit. So if you’ve moved from California, you’ll laugh at all the Idahoans and go, “What do you mean it took an extra 45 seconds? Ha, ha, ha.”
But anyway, this new north-south corridor is supposed to relieve some of the pressure off the north-south route.
Interstate 84 in Idaho
And we also have this north-south corridor, which is Interstate 84. The government has been working on I-84 for the last couple of years. This widening project aims to take it from two lanes in each direction to three lanes.
They just finished that a week ago, and I’ve been on it, and now Interstate 84 traffic is nice. So we have three lanes going in each direction — from Caldwell down through Nampa. Then here at the Garrity area, it turns into four lanes as it goes in each direction all the way across. More importantly, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a pothole on this freeway since they take good care of it.
Traffic Relief from SH-16
So was all the congestion on I-84 in the last couple of years because of extra traffic, construction, or whatever? I don’t know, but they’re already done with construction, and we’ll have traffic relief from this Highway 16 project that comes down to I-84. Once the project is complete, the freeway should be much easier to traverse. Undoubtedly, Eagle Road will also be less congested, so that’s pretty good.
New Vision for Idaho State Highway 16
Let’s look at what the Idaho Department of Transportation discusses on its website about the project.
So they’re still working on its second phase right now. That’s all good, but I want to know about the pictures.
SH-16 Construction Design
Upon checking the SH-16 construction design, this is what it will look like when Highway 16 intersects with I-84. So it’s like you come in off Highway 16, and there’s no stopping there. Everything has a flyover — or an overpass if you’re from England. And then you can come and get onto I-84 seamlessly. There’s one stoplight if you’re getting on the freeway one way, but this is cool.
SH-16 at Franklin Road
So that is 16 at the freeway, and here we have 16 at Franklin Road. Again, we have the flyover, so there’s no stopping there. So if you come in from Emmett, you can buzz into Meridian, Boise, and Nampa smoothly.
The big traffic intersection is where 20/26 and 16 intersect. Highway 20/26 is in Chinden, and there it is — there’s the flyover and big ramps to get off.
Downsides to Change
I am excited about that. It’s going to be a massive change. On the downside, it might bring more houses and businesses to this agricultural area. Time will tell, so we shall see. Progress isn’t always good. It isn’t always easy, but it always seems to happen.
Wrapping Up
I hope you found the video interesting. Please go ahead and like it and subscribe to the channel — that means so much. Check out our website for some great resources too. You never know who’s going to stop in, right, Gavin?
This is Treasure Valley Dave, looking forward to helping you get home.
