TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Traffic, traffic, everywhere. A growing population means more cars. Now, the Magic Valley MPOhopes to outline a 20-year transportation plan to help people get around this part of the Magic Valley by every mode, from sidewalks to a third crossing of the Snake River canyon.
- The Magic Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization, or MPO, will act as a planning organization to help develop a regional, long-range transportation plan.
- The cities of Twin Falls and Kimberly, as well as the counties of Twin Falls and Jerome were joined by three area highway districts as part of the MPO.
- The Magic Valley MPO was signed into existence by Gov. Brad Little in December 2023. It is the sixth MPO in Idaho, joining regions like Bannock, Bonneville, Kootenai, Lewis and Clark, and the Treasure Valley.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
"When I was a kid, we were talking about a Snake River crossing," Magic Valley MPO Executive Director Nathan Jerke said. "Right now — we're still talking about a Snake River crossing."
Transportation planning is a tricky thing. Planning and building a road could take a decade, or in the case of a third bridge over the Snake River canyon, several decades.
"Right now that's still a big thing, just because the costs are rising, and how are we going to accomplish something like that? Well, the way we accomplish it is by working as a region," Jerke said.
For just over a month, Nathan Jerke has been on the job as director of the new Magic Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization. The MPO is just a baby itself: it was only just signed into existence in December by Gov. Brad Little.
Triggered by the population of Twin Falls passing 50,000, the MPO is a mechanism that brings various transportation agencies together to develop long-range plans — essentially, how people will get around this part of the Magic Valley in the future.
"What this is going to do is bring us all together and help us prioritize those transportation projects at more of a regional planning level, as opposed to everybody worrying about their own little spot in the world," Jerke said. "We all are going to work together."
Participating jurisdictions include the cities of Twin Falls and Kimberly, the counties of Twin Falls and Jerome, as well as several highway districts
"Roadways don't just end on our county lines or our city lines, they go into other counties, they go into other jurisdiction so it kind of makes sense to be at the table together," Commissioner Don Hall said.
Hall represents Twin Falls County to the MPO. Like Jerke, he is hopeful that a third-crossing can become more than a far-off dream
"I think we've got another bridge," Hall said. "We've got to have a third crossing that accounts for Blue Lakes and other areas, they're becoming more and more congested and it just makes more sense to get some of that highway traffic and keep them on the highways than to clog up the arteries within our municipalities, and really throughout the county."
