STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

A thousand Wood River Valley residents have weighed in on whether to keep Ketchum’s entrance a two-lane roadway or to widen it to four lanes.

Ketchum Mayor Neil Bradshaw told those attending Tuesday’s Coffee Talk at Living with Wolves that the Idaho Transportation Department currently is basing its road construction work at Ketchum’s southern entryway on a 2008 City Council decision to keep Ketchum’s entrance two lanes.

But the Council will decide on Monday, Aug. 18, whether to uphold or amend that decision. And it’s asking citizenry to state their preference at  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HWY75laneconfiguration.

Ketchum Mayor Neil Bradshaw, who will step down this year after two terms, tell attendees that a proposed hot springs resort out Warm Springs could help prevent hot water from entering Warm Springs Creek where it raises water temperature to the detriment of the trout.

The currently planned roadway configuration would include one northbound lane and one southbound lane, plus a center turn lane and bike lanes on both sides of the roadway between Serenade Lane and River Street.

If the Council stays with the 2008 decision, it will mean new dedicated bike lanes and a dedicated turn lane plus new 6-foot sidewalks on both sides of the roadway. But vehicles would have to merge into a single lane of travel for a few blocks.

The four-lane option would avoid vehicular constriction, allowing for two lanes of travel both north and south from Buttercup Road just north of Hailey through Ketchum.

It would include sidewalks on both sides but would not include a center turn lane or bike lanes between Serenade Lane and River Street. That said, bicycles would be allowed to travel on the sidewalks in that area.

Bradshaw said that one council member appears to be pushing back on the four-lane proposal. The benefit to the keeping it two lanes is that it slows traffic down; the benefit to four lanes is that it keeps traffic moving more efficiently, he added.

This year’s highway construction will end when the snow falls, although ITD will still be able to do a little work on the Trail Creek Bridge as winter sets in, Bradshaw said.

Idaho Transportation Department originally planned to do the east side of the highway this year and the west side next year. Now, it plans to finish all four lanes of highway up to Serenade Lane this fall. That means commuters will be able to access both Elkhorn Road and Serenade Lane, making the commute to Ketchum and Sun Valley easier than this year.

ITD also plans to do the east side of the bridge this year and the west side next year. It will put in the sidewalks next year.

“I think this is good news, but there will still be challenges,” Bradshaw said.

Don’t expect the completion of four lanes south of Serenade Lane to mean that the project will be shortened next year, Bradshaw cautioned. Commuters are still looking at another summer of road construction in 2026 from May to October.

Ketchum business is up this year based on local option taxes, despite the lengthy delays road construction has created for tourists and workers. Lot taxes in June were up significantly, Bradshaw said.

LOT taxes were up 8 percent across the board, said the city’s finance director Brent Davis, with retail up 20 percent.

“Road construction has had an impact on people’s lives, people’s commute time.” Bradshaw acknowledged. “It’s like last year’s Main Street project. But the product was worth it.”

There have been delays in the project involving putting in new water lines and undergrounding electricity on both sides of the road There have also been issues with prep work of Trail Creek Bridge. The most notable delay occurred because Idaho Power was directed by the federal government to order American-made cables partway through its work undergrounding power lines.

The company is still burying power lines near the bridge.

“There was tons of utility work to be done and it started late,” said City Administrator Jade Riley. “It’s a very complicated project. Then, add in water lines being moved, fiber optics…”

When completed bike lanes will flow to Leadville Avenue, keeping bicyclists off Main Street, said Daniel Hansen, the city’s director of Community Engagement. And, sidewalks crossing Trail Creek Bridge will have snow removal, unlike the past when snow piled up making the crossing tricky for pedestrians.

In other news, the amount of earth being moved at the 65-acre Warm Springs Preserve is huge, Bradshaw said.

“We’re not taking away dirt, just rearranging it and adding a little top soil,” he added. “It’s a preservation project, one that includes a pond for dogs so they don’t mess up the banks getting to the creek.”

The city still needs $400,000 in donations to match a $500,000 matching grant. If it gets it in the next couple weeks, it will be able to build restrooms and other facilities this year. The city is spending only $300,000 on the entire project and that’s to connect utilities—the rest has been from donations.

When finished the preserve will have much more efficient irrigation—right now it’s done manually during the day. It also will offer better flood mitigation and better habitat for fish.

“This is about the health of the river—it just happens it will be good for dogs, too,” said Bradshaw.

Bradshaw added that the concert featuring classical pianist Hunter Noack in the preserve during the Summer Solstice was “magical” and even got coverage in the New York Times. He added that he hopes people will watch the city’s video on the Preserve’s dirt moving, which includes sifting machine sorting rocks and gravel, at https://vimeo.com/1107893462.

To learn more about the preserve, go to https://www.projectketchum.org/warm-springs-preserve/.

Jamie Dutcher, who opened Living with Wolves in Ketchum with her husband Jim Dutcher, asked about electric bikes on the Wood River Trail.

Bradshaw replied that fast biking isn’t relegated to Ebikes—some of those on traditional 10-speeds have been clocked going faster, seemingly inspired by the Tour de France.

Police patrols are now out on the path every day, often pointing radar guns at cyclists. And the City of Ketchum is preparing an education campaign about rules of the road in partnership with other municipalities in the valley, said Hansen.

The police issued warnings this past month and will begin giving out tickets this month, he added.

DETOUR TO THE DETOUR

Motorists will not be able to detour from Leadville Avenue going southbound onto Highway 75 this week.Southbound travel between Serenade Lane and Gem Street will be prohibited.