Problem 5: U.S. 95 South of Moscow

Printable Version

U.S. 95 continues south out of Moscow bound for Lewiston, ID, 32 miles to the south. Exhibit 1-42 shows an aerial photograph of about a four-mile stretch of the highway just south of Moscow. A short length of suburban two-lane arterial leads quickly to a rural two-lane highway.

The state highway agency would like to evaluate the performance characteristics of U.S. 95 as a single facility. To help address this issue, we will explore issues related to the short section of U.S. 95 that acts as a main street for the somewhat developed area you can see toward the bottom of the aerial photograph. Currently, the development in this area does not generate much activity, but trip making is expected to increase over the next 10 years as the area grows. 

Current estimates are that 10 years from now U.S. 95 south of Moscow will carry about 1,100 vehicles per hour during the PM peak and about 700 of these trips will be generated by the development area (400 originating and 300 destined for this area). Another 300 will be bound toward Moscow from this area, which we will hereafter refer to as a hamlet. In addition, the hamlet will generate a total of about 2,000 vehicle trips during the PM peak (the 700 trips mentioned above are included in this figure), 100 of these trips will go to and from points further south, and the remaining 1,200 trips will be local within the hamlet.

How will U.S. 95 operate in the future based on these forecast traffic conditions? Continue to the next page for additional discussion.