The Blaine County Commission will debate on Tuesday evening whether to recommend a noise mitigation wall along state Highway 75 that does not comply with the county's Scenic Overlay District rules.
The wall is part of the Idaho Transportation Department's expansion plan for Highway 75. It is projected to be 8 feet high and would stretch 610 feet along the west side of the highway. It would be located next to the Cold Springs Mobile Home Park, just south of St. Luke's Wood River Medical Center near Ketchum, to deflect noise from the residences there.
A wall of that size would violate county ordinance, which states that no freestanding walls taller than 4 feet can be built within the "scenic overlay." However, as the proposed wall would be built within the state's right-of-way, it is not subject to county ordinance.
Mike Scott, project manager for the Idaho Transportation Department, said the department hopes to work with the county on the issue.
"This is kind of a courtesy, to go to the county and ask, 'Do you really want this in this area?'" Scott said.
Tenants and the property owner at Cold Springs have already submitted a letter to the department in support of a noise wall. The extended highway would be 15 feet farther away from the park than the current highway is, but Scott said the increased traffic would increase noise to such a level that a noise wall will be necessary.
County commissioners will only discuss whether to recommend a wall at Tuesday's meeting, and will not delve into aesthetics.
<
"As far as the construction of the wall, what it's going to look like, ... that's a completely separate issue," Scott said.
If the commissioners choose to recommend the wall, the ITD would work with the Blaine County Transportation Committee to determine its appearance. Scott said that if the wall were not approved, the department would take the proposal to the Federal Highways Administration for review.
The special meeting of the county commissioners will be held at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 17, at the Old Blaine County Courthouse in Hailey.
The county Planning and Zoning Commission discussed an amendment to the Scenic Overlay District ordinance at its meeting on Thursday night. While the results of that meeting were not available as of press time, the amended ordinance includes a provision to preserve the berms that already exist along the highway.
The right-of-way widening that is included in the plan for highway expansion would push the right-of-way into several existing berms.
Scott said that the plans include excavation of part of the berms, the remainder of which would be retained by 3-foot landscaping walls.
Such excavation could require that the berms, some of which were built before the ordinance was enacted, be brought under current code. The amendment would exclude existing berms from this requirement.
The expansion project includes plans to widen the highway along a stretch from Timmerman Junction, south of Bellevue, to Ketchum.
Katherine Wutz: kwutz@mtexpress.com
Graphic courtesy of ITD.
Here, an artist’s rendition depicts what a proposed noise mitigation wall along state Highway 75 could look like. The proposed wall would span 610 feet along the west side of the highway, helping to block the Cold Springs Mobile Home Park from the increased noise an expanded highway would cause.
