Should the Cheyenne connector project be completed? Or would it ruin the natural area?

By Sean Ellis

sellis@journalnet.com

    POCATELLO — The long-planned Cheyenne Connector project is stuck in the final design stage and will only move forward once Pocatello’s Portneuf River levees are recertified by the federal government.

    The connector is intended to improve east-west traffic flow from Bannock Highway to South Fifth Avenue and bypass the dangerous Cheyenne Avenue railroad 

crossing, the site of several fatal accidents over its history, including one in 1995 that resulted in the death of a local woman and her son.

    City officials previously hoped to see construction on the $17 million project started this summer.

    “That’s not going to happen,” said interim City Engineer Deirdre Castillo.

    The project is being funded by federal money, but the city will need to pay about 7 percent of the total cost.

    The project has been in the planning stages since 1998, but it has been delayed numerous times due to environmental concerns, funding and now the levees, which were decertified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in 2008.

    If the levees aren’t recertified by FEMA, Castillo said, the city would have to build a three-span bridge over the river instead of the currently planned two-span bridge. That would make the price tag bigger than the city can afford because the project engineer would need to be paid more money to design the new structure.

    Castillo said the city is already doing everything it can to meet its share of the cost.

    “We can’t afford a bigger bridge,” she said.

    City officials will meet Monday with the project engineering consultant and state officials to discuss the project.

    Not everyone wants to see the project move forward, however. Johnny Creek resident Kay Merriam said she has gathered the signatures of more than 500 people who are opposed to it. Merriam doesn’t believe it’s the wisest use of the money, and she’s also concerned about how the project would affect aesthetics in that area.

    “A lot of people feel that saving 10 minutes to get into town is not a worthy use of ($17 million),” she said. “I’m strongly concerned about the aesthetics of it. It’s such a beautiful area.”

    The project, also known as the South Valley Connector, will feature a two-lane road and will include a shared-use path for pedestrians and bicyclists. It will tie in to AMI/Kirkham Trail and South Second Avenue.

    Once the project is completed, the plan is to close the Cheyenne railroad crossing. However, the bridge on Cheyenne that crosses the Portneuf River and handles 1,500 to 2,000 vehicle trips daily is nearing the end of its lifespan and might not last until the project is completed.

    If it doesn’t survive that long, motorists trying to get to that area would have to travel further north through the downtown area, or further south through the Portneuf Gap area.

    Randy Ghezzi, Pocatello’s street superintendent and traffic engineer, said the connector would handle future growth in the area, alleviate traffic pressure in the downtown area, and allow traffic to flow uninterrupted between Bannock Highway and South Fifth.

    FEMA began taking a second look at levees around the nation after Hurricane Katrina and decertified Pocatello’s levees in 2008. Ghezzi said the city is working hard to get them recertified and recently sent a report to the Army Corps of Engineers updating the agency on Pocatello’s efforts and asking it to recommend FEMA recertify the levees quickly.

    Ghezzi and Public Works Director Greg Lanning will discuss the report during the City Council’s regular study session Feb. 11 and will ask for the council’s direction on the issue.