St. Lukes wants change in highway design
Three lanes instead of five
"We find ourselves up against the wall. Controller of the highway
is the ITD. Please collaborate with us and the ITD so we can occupy the hospital as soon
as possible."
Gary Fletcher, St. Lukes executive vice president for
operations.
By KEVIN WISER
Express Staff Writer
After hearing testimony during a packed meeting in Hailey, the Blaine
County Planing and Zoning Commission postponed a decision on whether to release St.
Lukes hospital from its commitment to fund construction of five lanes of highway
past its site south of Ketchum.
St. Lukes hospital wants to construct three lanes instead of five
lanes of Highway 75 at an intersection that will serve the new hospital at McHanville.
The P&Z decided to revisit St. Lukes request on April 20 at 6:30
p.m. at the old Blaine County Courthouse.
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In January 1999, the P&Z granted a permit to build the hospital with
the condition that St. Lukes pay for some of the costs of construction of a
five-lane section of Highway 75 extending 1,000 feet north and south of a stoplight at the
hospitals southern entrance.
St. Lukes section would have been part of a larger project that
would have extended from Timber Way to Serenade Lane.
However, the ITD recently decided to delay the larger project beyond the
hospitals projected December 2000 opening date. So, St. Lukes requested that
it be held responsible for only a three-lane highway segment so as not to delay opening.
At Thursdays hearing, St. Lukes attorney JoAnne Butler said
according to a Transportation Impact Study conducted by St. Lukes traffic engineer
James Pline, a three-lane highway can safely accommodate the hospital facilities including
a proposed 40,000-square-foot office building.
Butler said the 106,000-square-foot hospital and proposed medical office
building would have a minimal effect on traffic.
According to a P&Z staff report compiled by zoning administrator
Deborah Vignes, the hospital will generate 1,780 vehicle trips per day; and, if approved,
the office building will generate another 1,445 vehicle trips daily.
The annual average traffic count for the highway in the year 2000 is
projected to be 12,746 vehicles per day.
"It is reasonable to assume that traffic on Highway 75 will increase
as a result of medical office facilities being located in the unincorporated rural county,
instead of in the cities of Sun Valley, Ketchum and Hailey," the report states.
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The change would also require re-negotiation of a horse-trade among the
ITD, Blaine County and St. Lukes that created a new access road for the hospital.
According to a county planning staff report, the ITD had agreed to give
the county ownership of a former railroad right of way in exchange for the countys
help in acquiring the rights of way necessary to construct a five-lane highway.
St. Lukes was to be responsible for the costs of acquiring the
rights of way and construction of an access road on the former railroad right of way. The
road was to become a county road and serve both the hospital and adjacent McHanville
properties.
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McHanville property owner Kim Nilsen told the P&Z that a three-lane
highway could not accommodate the hospital, the medical office building and other
development in the area.
"It sounds like they just want to put some gravy in their
pockets" by trying to get out of their responsibility for five-lanes, Nilsen said.
"If you let them off the hook youre making a grave mistake."
Gary Fletcher, St. Lukes executive vice president for operations,
said that despite concerns about costs, St. Lukes would not back away from any
financial obligations.
Fletcher said St. Lukes wants to provide a safe environment for
people to come to the hospital.
"We find ourselves up against the wall," Fletcher said.
"Controller of the highway is the ITD. Please collaborate with us and the ITD so we
can occupy the hospital as soon as possible."
ITD engineer Devin Rigby said the timeline for construction of a five-lane
highway through the stretch adjacent to the hospital is five to 10 years. Rigby said the
timeline is dependent on completion of an environmental study for the entire Highway 75
corridor, which would establish the configuration of the highway.
According to the staff report, the P&Z may deny or approve St.
Lukes request with any of the following options:
Require St. Lukes to construct a three-lane highway
extending approximately 1,000 feet north and south of the hospital traffic signal;
construct and install an acceleration lane southbound from the intersection to allow right
turning traffic from the hospital to merge with Highway 75 traffic.
Hold St. Lukes responsible for the cost difference
between constructing a three- and five-lane section of highway.
If the P&Z chooses the latter option, St. Lukes
could be required to post a bond for the cost difference between constructing a three-lane
and a five-lane segment of highway.
If the ITD commences construction and expansion of
the highway to at least four lanes in the general area between Timber way and Serenade
Lane within 10 years of the opening of the hospital, the bond would be paid to the ITD.
In the event the ITD did not begin construction within 10 years of the
hospital opening, or if highway expansion does not include four lanes of traffic, St.
Lukes obligation to contribute to the highway expansion project would expire.