After disappearing for a time, one large road project is back on the Ada County Highway District’s mind.The Orchard St. realignment is back on ACHD’s five-year plan, with design slated for 2027-2028. Rachel Bjornestad, senior public information officer with ACHD, said the project was removed fro m the 2026-2030 five-year plan but remained on the 2025-2029 five-year plan as a “future” project with no specified year. As BoiseDev reported, it was taken off the City of Boise’s road “priority list” in 2023 after years of work due to cost and complications with the road route.Each municipality submits a priority project list ahead of ACHD’s five-year plans to help the agency decide what to fund.Currently, Orchard St. begins where Lake Hazel ends, around the new Innovator St. It terminates — briefly — at Gowen Rd. before picking up again further east at Gowen Rd. It then winds around the airport area before straightening out north of I-84.The proposed realignment of Orchard St. near the Boise Airport. Map: Courtesy ACHDUnder a new design, the road would push north past Gowen Rd., instead of terminating. It would likely link back up with the existing Orchard St. near the New York Canal. A previous concept study for the roadway included a four-lane road with a raised median and roundabouts at Diamond St., an extended Dorman St., and a newly created intersection with Gowen Road. As BoiseDev reported, the road would have passed through or near sewer lagoons and a decommissioned landfill, making it a challenging project.Bjornestad said the project reappeared on the highway district’s five-year plan for a few reasons. For one, on the priority project list the City of Boise submitted to ACHD, it was ranked sixth.Another reason is that with its proximity to the Lake Hazel extension project, which just got federal grant money for design, ACHD determined the Orchard St. realignment needed to be completed before or around the same time as the extension project, according to Bjornestad.Bjornestad said another reason for re-upping the project was federal grant money.“We did apply for a grant related to that project, and we didn’t get it. And the feedback that we got after we didn’t get the grant was that if the design and right-of-way were completed, then we would have been more competitive with that grant,” Bjornestad said.She said the district hopes that by completing the design and right-of-way for the project, it can get funding to bring it to life.“It is a large project funding-wise, so we’ve been looking over the years at how to fund it, and so that’s why we’re hoping to eventually get a grant or look at different opportunities for helping to fund the project because we know that it’s a project that is wanted but is a significant investment,” Bjornestad said.ACHD’s five-year plan map can be found here..wp-block-kadence-column.kb-section-dir-horizontal > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kt-info-box1357004_69d5a0-09 .kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap{max-width:unset;}.kt-info-box1357004_69d5a0-09 .kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap{border-top:5px solid #c54118;border-right:5px solid #c54118;border-bottom:5px solid #c54118;border-left:5px solid #c54118;border-top-left-radius:13px;border-top-right-radius:13px;border-bottom-right-radius:13px;border-bottom-left-radius:13px;background:#ffffff;padding-top:3px;padding-right:3px;padding-bottom:3px;padding-left:3px;}.kt-info-box1357004_69d5a0-09 .kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap:hover{background:#ffffff;}.kt-info-box1357004_69d5a0-09.wp-block-kadence-infobox{max-width:100%;}.kt-info-box1357004_69d5a0-09 .kadence-info-box-image-inner-intrisic-container{max-width:200px;}.kt-info-box1357004_69d5a0-09 .kadence-info-box-image-inner-intrisic-container .kadence-info-box-image-intrisic{padding-bottom:70.5172%;width:580px;height:0px;max-width:100%;}.kt-info-box1357004_69d5a0-09 .kadence-info-box-icon-container .kt-info-svg-icon, .kt-info-box1357004_69d5a0-09 .kt-info-svg-icon-flip, .kt-info-box1357004_69d5a0-09 .kt-blocks-info-box-number{font-size:50px;}.kt-info-box1357004_69d5a0-09 .kt-blocks-info-box-media{color:#444444;background:transparent;border-color:#444444;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-bottom-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;padding-top:10px;padding-right:10px;padding-bottom:10px;padding-left:10px;margin-top:0px;margin-right:15px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:15px;}.kt-info-box1357004_69d5a0-09 .kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap:hover .kt-blocks-info-box-media{color:#444444;background:transparent;border-color:#444444;}.kt-info-box1357004_69d5a0-09 .kt-infobox-textcontent h3.kt-blocks-info-box-title{padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-top:5px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:10px;margin-left:0px;}.kt-info-box1357004_69d5a0-09 .kt-infobox-textcontent .kt-blocks-info-box-text{color:#555555;}.kt-info-box1357004_69d5a0-09 .kt-blocks-info-box-learnmore{color:#444444;background:#ffffff;border-color:#444444;border-width:1px 0px 0px 0px;padding-top:4px;padding-right:8px;padding-bottom:4px;padding-left:8px;margin-top:10px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:10px;margin-left:0px;}.kt-info-box1357004_69d5a0-09 .kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap:hover .kt-blocks-info-box-learnmore,.kt-info-box1357004_69d5a0-09 .kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap .kt-blocks-info-box-learnmore:focus{color:#222222;background:#ffffff;border-color:#222222;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kt-info-box1357004_69d5a0-09 .kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap{border-top:5px solid #c54118;border-right:5px solid #c54118;border-bottom:5px solid #c54118;border-left:5px solid #c54118;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kt-info-box1357004_69d5a0-09 .kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap{border-top:5px solid #c54118;border-right:5px solid #c54118;border-bottom:5px solid #c54118;border-left:5px solid #c54118;display:block;}.kt-info-box1357004_69d5a0-09 .kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap .kt-blocks-info-box-media{display:inline-block;max-width:100%;}}Right of wayRight of way is land owned and maintained by a jurisdiction, often a state, city or highway district. The land is reserved for public use, like roadways.Often, when an area requires roadway improvements, such as widening, and the responsible jurisdiction needs additional space, they begin a right-of-way acquisition process. This includes working with property owners to purchase the needed property. ...read more read less