Pocatello-area drivers hoping to see relief on some of the region’s most congested corridors will have to wait longer than expected. The Idaho Transportation Department has postponed more than $1 billion in road construction projects statewide after lawmakers trimmed transportation funding during the 2026 legislative session — and Southeast Idaho is absorbing a substantial share of those delays.
Across ITD’s seven-year Idaho Transportation Investment Program, the shelved work amounts to approximately one-third of all contract construction originally planned for that period. Projects pushed back have been reclassified under an “early development” designation, meaning they stay in the planning pipeline but carry no committed construction funding for now.
Bannock County Projects Pushed Back
Four Pocatello-area highway improvements are among those now on hold. The largest is the Yellowstone-Garrett corridor widening, which also includes intersection rework at the U.S. 30 and U.S. 91 junction — a project budgeted at $13.9 million. A separate widening effort along the Siphon to Tyhee Road stretch, carrying a $12.2 million price tag, has likewise been deferred. Ramp improvements at the South Fifth Avenue interchange on Pocatello’s south end, estimated at $9.5 million, are also delayed, as is a $6.1 million widening effort near the Utah state line.
Combined, those four projects represent roughly $41.7 million in highway improvements that Bannock County commuters and commercial drivers had been expecting to see move forward.
Three additional projects tied to bonded Transportation Expansion and Congestion Mitigation funding have also been temporarily shelved. That group includes a U.S. 26 interchange and bridge replacement at the South Blackfoot exit, a widening segment running between the South and North Blackfoot exits, and upgrades to the North Blackfoot exit. ITD’s Justin Smith indicated the path back to bond financing for those projects is uncertain. “When we can bond for those is still up in the air,” Smith said. “It’s up to what the board decides for when we are able to go back out and start issuing bonds.”
Work Already Underway Will Be Finished
Despite the breadth of the cuts, ITD officials were clear that no project currently in active construction will be stopped or suspended mid-build. Smith confirmed that all work already under way across the region will run through to completion. “Anything that’s already in construction will remain in construction, so we don’t have to worry about leaving things half done,” he said.
Several Southeast Idaho projects are pressing ahead under that guarantee. The highway widening between Northgate and Fort Hall remains active, and the Rocky Point wildlife underpass near Montpelier is continuing as planned. The Riverton Road bridge replacement is still on schedule, concrete resurfacing work near McCammon is moving forward, and U.S. 33 reconstruction through Soda Springs remains underway. In Inkom, bridge rebuilds along the Park Lawn to Siphon corridor are also continuing — providing a direct benefit to Bannock County residents who travel that stretch regularly.
The reassurance that active projects will finish does little to ease the congestion picture at intersections and interchanges where long-anticipated improvements are now off the near-term schedule. The I-15 corridor through Pocatello, which sees high volumes of both commuter and freight traffic, stands to feel the impact of those deferred upgrades most acutely.
What Comes Next
The ITD Board is set to open public comment on the revised transportation investment program in July, with formal approval of the updated plan expected at the board’s September meeting. That public comment window gives Bannock County residents, local officials, and business owners a chance to make their priorities known as the department finalizes its restructured spending schedule.
Projects now sitting in “early development” status could be restored to funded standing in a future program cycle, but only if the Legislature reinstates transportation funding at higher levels or ITD pursues and receives additional bonding authority. Neither of those outcomes is guaranteed in the near term. Until one or both occur, improvements to the Yellowstone-Garrett corridor, the South Fifth Avenue interchange ramps, and the Siphon-to-Tyhee widening carry no confirmed timeline for breaking ground. Residents interested in tracking the ITD Board’s review process can monitor updates through the Idaho Transportation Department’s official website.