What’s going on with all the traffic, road closures in downtown Boise? What to know

If you’ve driven through downtown Boise during rush hour over the last couple of weeks, you might’ve noticed something obvious: Traffic is terrible.

Commuting these days can make you feel like a rat stuck in a maze as you weave between neon traffic cones, cars stuck in the middle of intersections, road closures and lanes choked with SUVs.

There’s no evil masterminded conspiracy to shut down Boise. Instead, it’s an accumulation of needed construction projects from several agencies that all fell around similar times.

The Ada County Highway District, the city of Boise and Boise’s urban renewal agency each have their own development projects and timelines that often require closing roads.

“There’s a lot of different work happening,” said Rachel Bjornestad, spokesperson for ACHD. “We know it’s a lot and can definitely get frustrating.”

There’s a lot of development happening downtown, she said, which typically needs to be connected into underground utilities. This means construction crews need to rip up and repave roads so new buildings can get access to things such as sewers.

Some roads have been fully or partially closed for months, including the western portion of Grove Street during the construction of the Hotel Renegade and the Broadstone Saratoga Apartments. Hotel Renegade is expected to open this spring and the Broadstone Saratoga in 2025.

The eastern side of Grove Street near the Basque Block and C.W. Moore Park has been closed for underground work and to prepare for the incoming Grove Street Public Space.

Construction of the 26-story Arthur apartments at 12th and Idaho streets has closed a lane of Idaho Street for months. The 860,000-square-foot St. Luke’s Health System expansion next to Fort Boise Park closed a stretch of Jefferson to build a new ambulance bay, according to prior Idaho Statesman reporting.

By law, ACHD cannot limit the number of developments or projects that close roads in an area without sufficient reason, such as work that requires a closure on a road being used as a detour, Bjornestad said.

Road closures come for some of Boise’s busiest roads

ACHD is responsible for some, but not all, of the closures near or in downtown, Bjornestad said. They include:

• 16th Street from Jefferson to nearly Washington streets and the partial closure of State Street from about 18th to 14th streets. This project focuses on improving intersections, crossings, traffic lights and curbs. The construction limits access to popular businesses including Albertsons, Rite Aid and Dutch Bros.

• State Street behind the Capitol between about 8th Street to 4th Street to upgrade traffic signals, crossings and stormwater treatment.

• 9th Street from Idaho to Jefferson streets to replace asphalt with concrete, replace signals and add pedestrian safety measures.

• Front Street between 15th and 16th streets to install new pedestrian crossings.

The three agencies try to coordinate as much as possible, but sometimes backups are unavoidable, Bjornestad said.

For instance, ACHD closed 9th for roadway and pedestrian improvements because the city of Boise plans to work on underground geothermal lines along Bannock, and ACHD didn’t want to close both streets at the same time, she said.

But the closure of State Street, one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares, has thrown possibly the biggest monkey wrench in commuter plans with reroutes to Jefferson and Washington streets.

For those hoping to take Capitol Boulevard to get to Jefferson Street, there are now long lines and backups during rush hour.

“Any time we have to close a road, it’s going to push traffic onto other roads,” Bjornestad said. “We know it’s inconvenient, (but) we try to minimize the inconvenience as much as we can.”

Don’t expect a quick fix. The State Street closure behind the Capitol is expected to last until late November, according to ACHD.

Recommendations for commuters

Bjornestad had some recommendations for drivers: Leave earlier than normal and check ACHD’s Roadwork In The Area map at achdidaho.org/my-commute.

“It’s important to remember to plan ahead, leave a little early and be patient,” she said. “Be courteous to other drivers. They’re in the same situation you are.”

Bjornestad said to obey road signs even if nobody appears to be working on the roads, as it can take five to seven days to cure concrete. On Thursday, a driver tried to go around a “road closed” sign and almost drove on fresh concrete, Bjornestad said. Had the driver gotten to the concrete, it would’ve caused at least a week’s delay for ACHD to redo the concrete.

She cautioned that even if you have a route that works now, there are more projects in the future that may change your route again — such as the incoming chip-seal season that is expected to start in late May.

Chip sealing is a type of pavement treatment that repairs and protects damaged roads, according to the ACHD website.

ACHD will be chip sealing roads in the northern part of the county and Boise’s North End neighborhood, she said. Closures will be on a rolling basis and last a few days but will prevent residents from using on-street parking.

A map of planned chip sealing can be found at: www.achdidaho.org/community-resources/seasonal-street-services/chip-seal