toggle mobile menu

toggle search menu

Site Navigation

Supplemental

St. Luke’s Blogs

Road Projects Around St. Luke’s Boise Advance

February 11, 2019

Here are the latest updates on road construction:

Road-construction crews have made significant progress on the major transportation and utility improvements around St. Luke's Medical Center in downtown Boise.

Aging water, sanitary sewer and storm sewer pipes serving the hospital and surrounding neighborhoods have been replaced, and road improvements and construction of the cycle track are continuing.

The transportation projects are being done in partnership with ACHD and the City of Boise.

Other construction projects

Houses set to move Feb. 21: More houses located on St. Luke’s property near the Boise Medical Center are being saved and moved to a temporary storage lot in East Boise. The tentative move date is Thursday night, Feb. 21. (This is an updated date to accommodate the weather and other considerations!)

The houses will move along a route that includes 2nd Street, Main Street and Warm Springs Avenue to a site off Goodman Street near the Idaho Botanical Garden. (See map below for the route.)

To minimize impacts to traffic, the majority of the move will take place overnight, but drivers and pedestrians may need to take alternate routes or expect delays as the houses pass during the moves.

As St. Luke’s moves forward with its next phase of a redevelopment project that will modernize the Boise hospital and improve access and care, it has worked to preserve several historic homes in the area. Read more details here.

Robbins Road Roundabout: Starting sometime in February, sections of Fort Street, Washington Street, Robbins Road, 2nd Street and 3rd Street could be temporarily closed to traffic as crews start work on the Robbins Road Roundabout. Construction teams will work to coordinate closures for the shortest durations possible, and full closures will only occur when absolutely required for the safety of the community and workers. Learn more about this project here on this City of Boise web page.

Warm Springs/Main Street garage area: There is construction work happening near the Warm Springs/Main Street Street St. Luke's employee parking garage in Boise. Expect road detours on Main Street/Warm Springs Avenue as well as walking detours from the garage area to the Boise hospital.

1st and 2nd streets between Jefferson and State streets: There will be closures off and on in this area for utility work over the next few weeks. Expect delays, rerouting and temporary closures.

Parking, pedestrian and bike access in Jefferson Street and 1st Street area: There is no parking on the block of Jefferson Street between 1st and 2nd streets. The sidewalk is closed on the north side of Jefferson between 1st and 2nd streets as well as on the west side of 1st Street between Jefferson and State streets. There are cycle track restrictions and closures along 2nd Street. The cycle track is restricted to one lane on State Street between 1st and 2nd streets. These are long-term changes to allow crews to work on construction projects in the area.

Main patient/visitor parking garage at the Boise hospital

Primary hospital access/parking for patients and visitors is from Avenue B to Bannock Street.
Note that the vehicle height limit for the patient/visitor parking garage is 7 feet, and delivery trucks and other vendors should not be servicing St. Luke’s via Bannock streets at the front of the hospital. Instead, delivery trucks and vendors should access the Central Plant from 1st Street off Jefferson, using the alley and exiting through the alley and parking lot to Jefferson Street.
There is additional physician parking in the lot at 148 E. Jefferson Street near St. Luke’s Central Plant.
There is building construction happening around the Boise hospital. Drivers are urged to exercise caution and allow themselves extra time to park at the Boise hospital.

Avenue C closed

Avenue C between Jefferson and Bannock streets is closed so that construction can proceed on the Idaho Elks Children's Pavilion. This is a long-term closure.
Jefferson Street between Avenue B and Avenue C is open.

Pedestrian access

Pedestrians should be on the lookout for construction signage detailing the latest detours as they navigate the downtown campus and the areas around St. Luke's Rehabilitation.

St. Luke’s Health System, in conjunction with ACHD and the City of Boise, started road construction in the summer of 2017 around St. Luke's downtown Boise hospital. This work is in preparation for the development project that will modernize the Boise hospital in order to improve access and care, while providing improved transportation flow.

The first phase of work centered on improvements to public roads and infrastructure in a 12-block area around the hospital. The goal is to better link the area with Boise’s downtown urban core.

Major aspects of this phase include:

Construction of the new roundabout at the intersection of East Fort and Reserve streets.
Construction of a dedicated cycle track around the St. Luke’s perimeter.
Realignment and improvements on the intersection of 1st, Fort and State streets.
Creating a dedicated right turn from northbound Avenue B on to East Jefferson.
Installing bigger sidewalks and bike lanes around the campus perimeter where space allows.

Drivers are also encouraged to reduce speeds in the hospital area because of the activity. Construction crews urge travelers to please be attentive while driving through the project area as conditions change regularly. Drivers are reminded that they present an additional hazard to work crews.

They’re urged to do their part to create a safe work environment to the men and women working to improve area roads. Travelers are also encouraged to add a few extra minutes to their commutes or find alternative and detour routes to avoid delays.

Improvements along the perimeter of the campus include constructing the cycle track, curbs, gutters and sidewalks.

Be prepared for delays

Hospital visitors, patients, physicians and staff should add a few extra minutes to their trip in order navigate the construction zones.

MSTI

For patients receiving care at MSTI, please note the drop-off area will remain accessible. If other instructions are necessary, signs will be posted to help guide drivers.

Tree removal

Due to the sidewalk and cycle track improvements and as considered at public hearings, trees in this area were removed. St. Luke’s is contractually obligated to replace removed trees using the city forester’s valuation and ACHD right-of-way rules. The tree removal is the result of three specific transportation projects the City of Boise, ACHD and the community requested of St. Luke’s:

Increased intersection capacity.
City Modal Elements: the cycle track and other amenities requested by the city.
Fort Boise Master Plan – Reserve and Fort / Fort and Robbins roundabouts.

St. Luke’s is working closely with the city forester to plant new trees in the cycle track median, in exchange for the 64 removed. St. Luke’s will ensure sensitive and appropriate choices are made for the restoration of the tree canopy throughout this portion of the plan. St. Luke’s intends to plant trees that are more valuable than required under city code and has agreed to incur this expense, even though the work requiring the majority of removals is directed by the three-party agreement.

Proposed rendering of the cycle track and median showing the replacement trees six to eight years after planting.

Proposed Rendering of the new downtown Boise St. campus.

Main Boise campus

The work is part of St. Luke’s Master Plan for its Boise campus and is the result of years of extensive study, planning and collaboration with key stakeholders, including the City of Boise, the Ada County Highway District and area residents. The thorough process included dozens of workshops, open houses and neighborhood association meetings, which helped to shape and evolve the plan through thoughtful input.

This is not a “single project,” but a multi-phased plan that will occur in stages over the years to come. At its core is our commitment to create an environment in which we can provide the best possible care for patients and families, in an environment geared toward safety, healing and comfort, explained Dave McFadyen, St. Luke's Boise administrator.

“We are happy this is finally moving forward because this development allows us to better meet the needs of our patients by providing modern, advanced care in a more user-friendly setting,” said McFadyen. “While this development does add capacity, it's less about growth and more about re-configuring our campus. It will be easier to navigate and find your doctor. There’s more room to care for our growing, aging community struggling with more complex chronic health problems. Our physicians will be right there ready to help in an emergency rather than a few blocks away, and our facility will be upgraded in a way that it flows better, saving precious minutes in emergencies, when time truly matters.”

Projects:

New Children’s Pavilion (under construction)
New central plant
New parking structure
New hospital tower
Expand and modernize St. Luke’s MSTI cancer center
Expand and modernize St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital
Expand and upgrade the current hospital tower

Together, the project will be one of the largest investments ever made in Boise and Idaho. It will bring new jobs to the region while building on Boise’s growing reputation as one of the most livable cities in the country with the high-quality health care that is a critical component of quality of life. The project will be financed through bonds, cash on hand and community philanthropy. This major development project is estimated to bring as much as $1.2 billion of rollover economic benefit and job growth to the community.