State funding cuts almost stopped the Highway 44 widening project in the heart of Star but after months of advocacy from city leaders and neighbors, the project is back on track.Star has grown from approximately 11,000 resident s in 2020 to roughly 25,000 today a 140 percent increase. Highway 44, also known as State Street, runs from Interstate 84 in Caldwell all the way to Glenwood in Garden City and Boise, passing through Middleton and Star along the way. Through downtown Star, the road currently operates as a three-lane section two lanes with a center turn lane creating a daily bottleneck."There's over 25,000 vehicle trips a day that drive that thing that they can get, they get bottlenecked all the way back to Canyon County and all the way past Highway 16 in there," Mayor Trevor Chadwick said.Watch to see how widening Highway 44 will impact the Star community. Star's Highway 44 widening project is back on track after funding cutsThe widening project will expand the section between roughly City Hall and Plummer or Moyle Avenue from three lanes to five lanes two through lanes in each direction plus a center turn lane along with new curb and gutter, drainage, sidewalks and pathways."We'll be able to start relieving a lot of the daily congestion that takes place through that bottleneck in town," said Jason Brinkman, ITD district engineer for the 10 counties of Southwest Idaho.Earlier this year, state funding challenges put the project in jeopardy. Brinkman said ITD has been working to widen and improve the Highway 44 corridor for years including recent widening on the Eagle side and ongoing study of the Middleton and west Star sections but funding pressures this spring raised questions about whether the Star widening could move forward in the near term."There's been some deliberation this spring, frankly, over whether we could afford to widen Highway 44 in the near term because of some of the funding challenges that we've had," Brinkman said.Chadwick traveled to Pocatello to meet with the board and has been working with ITD staff and board members ever since to get the funding restored."We've got to make sure this infrastructure keeps up with that, and this is a critical piece of infrastructure for our community," Chadwick said.After months of meetings and advocacy, ITD found a solution. The agency identified savings from bid savings and efficient work on other projects to cover approximately half of the project cost in the current year."We're happy to report that we've gotten that pretty well ironed out, still subject to some final decision-making by the board," Brinkman said.The total project budget including right-of-way and the construction contract is approximately $12 million. The first six million has been secured from current year savings. The Idaho Transportation Board will vote Wednesday to approve the other six million in the draft of next year's funding program, which begins in July. The project is expected to get under contract later this year and wrap up by the end of 2027 the same timeline as the Highway 44/16 interchange currently under construction on the east side of Star, a separate project valued at more than $60 million."We should coast them both to the finish line at about the same time," Brinkman said.ITD project manager and staff engineer Jackson Smart will oversee the widening through construction. He said the project will start this fall and take roughly a year to complete."This project is important because it will help reduce the impact of traffic in the city of Star and the users of Highway 44," Smart said."We're really excited about getting this project started. It should really help the local community, and it should help the traveling public greatly," Smart said.Brinkman said ITD is also seeking right-of-way funding at Wednesday's board meeting for the portion of Highway 16 widening north of Highway 44 between A Street and Beacon Light Road another project in design that will bring additional relief to the area in the coming years.Brinkman credited Chadwick and the city for their partnership throughout the process."Mayor Chadwick has been a staunch advocate for transportation. He's been a great partner. We work very closely with them, and we're really happy to jointly bring this project forward. It's been a passion of his, it's a passion of mine, and it's really important to get that underway," Brinkman said.Chadwick also credited the Compass Metropolitan Planning Organization and community members who sent letters of support."I get very passionate about this stuff because I'm trying to protect our community and, and, uh, they're, they're delivering," Chadwick said.Star neighbors Teresa and Bruce Wise attended Tuesday's open house to show their support and learn more about the projects. Teresa Wise said the community's involvement matters."With that growth, we need to expand our infrastructure, and it's not just up to the city, but we have to do this on a bigger level through ITD and ACHD," Wise said.She said neighbors who could not attend the open house should know that showing up and speaking up makes a difference."All come and support to find out more of what the details are behind the projects and what we can do to let them know that we're behind them and appreciate all the hard work that these guys are doing," Wise said.ITD is urging neighbors to take part in its Idaho Transportation Improvement Program public comment period this July, where feedback will help decide which projects get priority. ...read more read less