Back on the road again

After crashing last month, traffic numbers see bump

The wind whipped Tuesday across the Government Way bridge that crosses Interstate 90 in Coeur d’Alene, but it wasn’t fanned by the usually bustling traffic.

Traffic on the Coeur d’Alene thoroughfare, and on the interstate, was unusually light.

It has been this way for more than a month, and the Idaho Transportation Department has been documenting the lower volumes since Gov. Brad Little issued a stay-at-home order March 25.

But things are starting to change.

Traffic is slowly making a comeback.

“It’s not terrible,“ said Tara Hite of Superior Towing in Coeur d’Alene, a business that relies on motorists. “It’s getting back there.”

After dropping off drastically across the state since March, weekly traffic counts on Idaho highways have ticked back up this month, according to the Idaho Transportation Department.

Peak traffic volume, which averaged around 22,300 at state counters in early March, fell to about half that before climbing back to around 14,000 by mid-April.

The numbers are taken from counters across the state on roads and highways that see a varied amount of use, but they all tell the same story.

“Early results have shown a decline in travel across the state,” Margaret Pridmore of ITD said.

Traffic numbers have crept up but they’re still around 30 percent lower than normal.

The week after COVID-19 was first confirmed in Idaho, the number of trips on the I-184 connector between downtown Boise and the freeway dropped about 30 percent. Traffic volumes dropped an additional 26 percent immediately after Little’s order.

Traffic on I-15, which connects Pocatello and Twin Falls with Montana in eastern Idaho, saw a jump in volume immediately after the governor’s order, Pridmore said.

“A lot of Canadians (were) heading home in fear that the US-Canada border could be closed in the near future,” Pridmore said.

At many locations, including in North Idaho, traffic volume also dropped by about half. Traffic volumes also increased slightly between Bonners Ferry and the Canadian ports of entry at the time of the governor’s order.

Traffic numbers continue to be depressed at Stateline where on April 11 — a Saturday — I-90 traffic was 42 percent lower than average, and traffic on U.S. 95 at Ironwood Drive on the same day was 19,973. That’s 34 percent lower than average at that location.

Transportation Department spokeswoman Megan Sausser said drivers were more reluctant to venture out immediately after the governor’s order, but volume has seen a slight increase.

“We’re still below normal,” Sausser said.

The decrease in traffic stands around 30 percent below normal this week instead of the 40 to 50 percent below average a few weeks ago, Sausser said.

“It’s still a big difference,” she said.

Traffic counts are based on volumes recorded in early March before the governor urged people to stay at home, Sausser said.

Hite said the decline in traffic was drastic at first, before she noticed numbers creep back this month.

“It kind of gone from crazy to nothing, and now it’s picking back up,” Hite said.

The uptick has been welcome during the spring season bookmarked between the busy winter snow, ice and slide-off season and the tourist travelers of summer.

“It’s been a slower season, but it’s been steady,” Hite said.

Sausser said the declines have been mainly documented in urban centers while rural areas have seen smaller dips in volume.

“We’re not seeing those declines in rural counties,” Sausser said.

North Idaho has been an anomaly in state traffic counts, Sausser said, because the increases are more pronounced here where volumes increased from a 38 percent reduction to a 27 percent reduction over two weeks.

“Nine percent of those drivers are back on the road,” she said.

Upticks in volume along I-90 the past few weeks could be attributed to Washington residents heading to Idaho to recreate because parks, trails and golf courses are still open.

Kootenai County sheriff deputies have been telling Washington residents to go home.

“I don’t think we can track that,” said Sausser, who grew up in Coeur d’Alene. She has, however, noticed an increase in the number of Lake City drivers compared to several weeks ago.

“There are definitely way more people (on the road) than there have been,” Sausser said.