A long-range plan for this important Treasure Valley corridor
The Idaho Transportation Department is studying options to improve safety, mobility and access on State Highway 69 between Kuna and Meridian.
Read MoreState Highway 69 from Kuna to Meridian was widened in the late 1990s. Due to increased traffic and development, crashes and delay times have increased and a re-evaluation of the corridor is needed.
In June 2019 ITD initiated a traffic study to determine the best options to improve the safety, mobility and access on and off State Highway 69.
The vision for State Highway 69 will:
The vision includes a combination of innovative intersection designs, safe access points and additional highway lanes. Learn more about the vision by visiting the State Highway 69 Story Map from July 2020.
Community involvement is important to ITD and the success of this project. ITD hosted an online meeting in June 2020 to gather input on the draft vision.
ITD will continue to work with the public, the cities of Meridian and Kuna, ACHD, Ada County and COMPASS throughout this project.
Transportation infrastructure funding has not kept pace with growth and demand in Idaho. There is no funding identified in ITD’s seven-year budget for these improvements. ITD prioritizes keeping existing infrastructure in good condition as it is the most cost-efficient management of the public infrastructure. A regular maintenance project for the entire corridor is currently scheduled for 2027.
ITD will design U-turn locations with enough space to accommodate large commercial vehicles. This will also accommodate horse trailers, RVs, and farm equipment. Where congestion or safety warrant them, signals will be installed to protect U-turns.
ITD requires new development with enough right-turning traffic onto a private approach to construct a right turn bay. This requirement is not standard for signalized intersections, such as at major 1-mile intersections. Following strong public support for right turn bays at most intersections, ITD recommends they be constructed as interim improvements and at full build-out.
The Ada County Highway District (ACHD) is responsible for widening local roads, such as Ten Mile. In the current Integrated Five Year Work Plan for 2021-2025 there are several projects scheduled for design and construction.
To find more information about the Ten Mile projects, visit ACHD’s website.
The traffic model used included widening Ten Mile Road to five lanes. Yes, this does reduce traffic on SH-69.
ITD is working with Valley Regional Transit to address transit on this corridor. VRT is responsible for creating and maintaining a plan for transit operations. Transit operations features will be included as a recommendation when there are Design For Construction projects.