Preliminary details surrounding potentially re-routing Idaho 55 traffic around downtown McCall will be aired on Wednesday at an open house in McCall.
The open house will run from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the McCall Public Library Community Hall. A self-guided website will also open on Wednesday through Aug. 20.
“Public input is key to ensuring proposed improvements meet the needs of McCall residents, businesses, and visitors,” Project Manager Wendy Howell said. “We encourage everyone to participate, either in person or online.”
State officials will present conceptual designs and be available to answer questions or take comments at the meeting.
The proposed bypass would route Idaho 55 traffic, including semi-trucks, around downtown McCall on Deinhard Lane and Boydstun Street.
The route is currently owned and maintained by the city, but could be traded to ITD for Third Street and West Lake Street, which make up Idaho 55 through McCall.
In 2023, the city and ITD were awarded a $2.9 million federal grant to advance a 2021 planning study of the bypass.
Once complete next spring, the new study is expected to provide the agencies with preliminary engineering plans and cost estimates for improvements needed to facilitate the bypass.
2021 bypass study
A previous bypass study completed in 2021 mapped out all possible improvements that could be needed along each route before an ownership swap could be agreed to.
Overall, the study estimated that the current Idaho 55 corridor could need nearly $5 million in improvements to meet city standards, while the bypass route could need about $2 million in improvements to meet state standards.
Improvements include upgrades to current Idaho 55 intersections at Deinhard Lane and Boydstun Street, re-paving work, and adding extra turn lanes on the current Idaho 55 route.
The study also listed projects that are “desired” by each agency, but not necessarily required for a bypass agreement to be reached.
Those projects included about $14 million in improvements to the current Idaho 55 corridor, such as adding sidewalks, curb and gutter, bicycle lanes, and pedestrian ramps on both sides of Third Street from Deinhard Lane to Colorado Street.
Straightening an “S” curve on Deinhard Lane near the McCall Municipal Airport was cited in the study as ITD’s only desired improvement project along the proposed bypass route.
Agencies tout improved safety
The city and ITD touted improved safety of the bypass route in their grant application for the federal Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity program.
The current Idaho 55 route through McCall saw 84 car crashes from 2017 to 2021, compared to 27 accidents during the same period along the bypass route, according to ITD.
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The number of vehicles passing through downtown McCall on Idaho 55 increased over the last 20 years from about 8,800 per day to 11,000 per day, according to the 2021 bypass study.
Routing traffic around downtown McCall would also help protect Payette Lake, which provides drinking water to McCall residents, from spills of hazardous materials, the grant application said.
