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ACHD delays State Street and Pierce Park project amid coronavirus pandemic

With less cars on the roads, essential ACHD road maintenance is getting completed faster, but all State Street work is 'delayed indefinitely.'

BOISE, Idaho — The Ada County Highway District Commission voted unanimously Wednesday night to delay the scheduled project at State Street and Pierce Park Lane.

The district has been postponing non-critical projects amid the coronavirus pandemic and officials earlier this month said they were looking at delaying the State Street widening and overhaul of that Pierce Park intersection. 

“Our staff recommended that our commission delay this project, because we really want to have the opportunity to redesign it so we can minimize the impacts of right-of-way negotiations,” Natalie Shaver said, an ACHD spokesperson. “A traffic impact study that was done as a part of this project doesn’t indicate an immediate need for the plan’s improvements.”

Shaver added that the project’s delay could also give the highway district some financial leeway, but the coronavirus has not had a noticeable impact on the budget yet. 

“What we are working on right now, we have already budgeted that for this fiscal year, so we don’t know what will happen with the next one,” she said. “But we have seen impacts directly related to covid on our maintenance operations.”

Shaver previously told KTVB that ACHD was taking a cautious approach due to economic uncertainty.

In addition to the Pierce Park and State Street project, chip seal maintenance has been delayed.

“We don’t know when that will pick back up,” Shaver said. “That will all depend on when the governor says we can go back to work so we can safely protect our people as well as the public.”

The project following State Street and Pierce Park Lane is the State and Glenwood intersection, which was also pushed further into next year.

“Anything right now with our State Street work is delayed indefinitely. We are still holding our weekly commission meetings, but they are virtual on Zoom so the public can still participate,” Shaver said. “That’s one of our big things, just making sure we are accessible to the public.”

Shaver added that ACHD essential road maintenance is getting completed quicker due to less vehicles on the roads.

WATCH BELOW: ACHD looks to postpone some non-critical road projects, including chip sealing

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