Idaho Falls Beltway is probably too far away

As far as I have heard, the only major bump in the road for a few companies was that the city couldn’t give an exact time for “total” completion of the Sunnyside Road project. Now that the final piece will be done by summer/fall next year, these same companies will probably renew their interest in relocating/expanding here.

When I think of beltway, I think of a freeway road system that circles a town, not a wide 2-lane road with stoplights every mile.

Are you saying the ‘beltway’ is being widened and prepped for the day they can remove stoplights and increase the speeds on it?

Those are some neat-sounding developments you talk about.

I agree with the views above that think the time to get working on a beltway is now. Every city that builds them is always behind the traffic counts once they are done.

For example, in metro Salt Lake City, (1 million people in Salt Lake County alone), the existing beltway is not adequate, which is why the Legacy Highway, and essentially a second beltway going through Draper and Riverton is seriously being discussed. Plus, the “express train,” (whatever it is named), that will use existing railroad tracks for a light commuter train from Provo to eventually Brigham City, is already in the process of building the connecting tracks.

Utah is almost playing double catch up so-to-speak, if the combined metro population of Utah County (Provo and Orem at ~ 650,000), Salt Lake County and Davis/Weber Counties (at ~ 300,000+) are combined.

Not only is the population of SL County underserved, so is the metro area. Close to 1.8 - 1.9 million residents use the established highways, interstates and existing beltway of the Wasatch Front metro area. Planners grossly underestimated the growth.

I know of a private company who is building an upscale store between Post Falls and Spokane. The company is paying for the freeway exit. So I think there is merit in reviewing options and sources of payment.

And, Dnix0112 is right as far as I know. This year (2007) should have a number of important announcements about new commercial and companies who want to do business in eastern ID. It’s just a matter of time (and potentially some re-zoning in the case of Sunnyside Crossroads Regional Center) to get the construction started.

One key change that note everyone may be aware of, developers now say that local government is working with them in partnership. I’m repeating what I read in a great article about the growth in Idaho Falls.

Apparently, there use to be “issues” with some government officials. I don’t know to whom those developers were referring. I’m only glad things are better now!

I absolutely think the time is NOW to be planning the belt loop. As I’ve driven belt loops in other cities, they have no traffic lights or stops in other form. I do tell people the Idaho Falls Metro area can have traffic jams at the wrong time of the day. It can easily take 30 minutes to get from the west to eastside as mentioned earlier.

I hope the government and potentially some developers who are interested in seeing Idaho Falls grow more will read this thread. I hope they realize that local citizens are concerned about what most likely will be continued growth.

Let’s grow “smart” instead of piece by piece.

Idaho Falls is already messed up given that is was clearly designed by a bunch of guys on a weekend bender. Look at all the street that change names. Look at the old part of the city that runs at an angle compared to the rest. Look at how the north south divider for addresses is 1st street in some parts of town, Broadway in others, and Market Street (no longer exists, you have to draw an imaginary line in your mind where it used to exist to understand the numbering in a certain part of town). Then try to figure out how you can have the 100 block of south Skyline on one side of Broadway and the 600 block on North Skyline on the other side and try to not have your brain explode. Or how in certain parts of town you have both even and odd numbered houses on the SAME side of the street. Or how on some streets houses are out of order numerically. I pity anyone new to the area trying to find their way around.

Its already too late for a beltway. IF is doomed to be a mess for the rest of time. Pessimistic yes but realistic too.

I think a beltway, or at least a connector (with on/off ramps) linking I15 to Ammon is a great idea and will be needed in the near future. Similar sized towns in other states, such as Texas for example, have beltways circling the metro area to relieve city traffic. I think a connector starting at or around Exit 113 and ending at Hitt or Ammon Road would be sufficient to alleviate much of the congestion and provide quick access to Ammon. Perhaps that would be more realistic and doable than a full loop.
Another improvement that I feel will be a must in the years to come is an upgrade to the I15 off ramp to Highway 20. Even now that exit can get backed up at times. Just imagine what it will be like in 10-15 years. I think ramps will be needed there in the future to provide a non-stop transition between roadways.
Of course all this costs a pretty penny, but it’s only going to get more expensive the longer it gets put off.

I think the problem with this idea is when we really need the beltway in 30 or 40 years, the whole region will be so full of developments that constructing the beltway will be prohibitively expensive. It would still be expensive now, but not nearly what the cost will be in the future when we need it.

A big part of the cost would have to be shouldered by Ammon, in my opinion. This project would benefit their city quite a bit, since it would send traffic their way more than anything. This project would also be in their best interest to pursue, because as Idaho Falls grows to the south we will choke off Ammon from the freeway. I say this meaning not literally but that our city’s growth will cause congestion which increases the time to travel from freeway to Ammon.

Maybe Ammon pays 1/3, Iona pays 1/4, and Idaho Falls pays the 5/12 remainder.