Change is afoot on Yale-Kilgore Road
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ISLAND PARK — While the nice fall weather holds, road construction crews work seven days a week to get as much done as they can on a stretch of Yale-Kilgore Road.
Construction started this spring and will pave about 21 miles of road between Fremont and Clark counties from the Shotgun area of Island Park into Dubois. This stretch of road provides access to the Caribou-Targhee National Forest and is popular with recreationists for hunting, hiking, biking, fishing, off-road snowmobile trails and Sunday drives.
The project’s overall purpose is to enhance safety along the route and meet public and commercial needs for expanded transportation in the area, according to the Federal Highway Administration.
Annie Tin, spokesperson for the FHA, says the construction, which starts at milepost 9 in Clark County and ends at milepost 30 in Fremont County, is expected to be completed by Oct. 1, 2025.
“While the Yale-Kilgore Road connects to Dubois, road work will end approximately 20 miles east of Dubois, Idaho,” said Yin.
Construction during this project includes grading, drainage, structures, aggregate base, asphalt pavement, full-depth reclamation and trail work.
The project will also feature a new, separated 3.7-mile trail for all-terrain vehicle and snowmobile traffic through a heavily traveled area parallel to the road in Fremont County from the Shotgun area to U.S. Highway 20. The trail design will provide a 10-foot-wide graveled surface travelway and 16 feet of clearing to accommodate a snow-grooming machine.
The plan is to provide a consistent roadway width and slightly widen the existing road beyond its current width of 22 to 26 feet. However, the road will not be straightened.
“The existing road will remain the same and still have S-curves,” said Yin.
The FHA says the Clark County segment will rehabilitate and pave 8 miles of gravel roadway to the Clark/Fremont county line.
Additional construction includes replacing culverts and other minor drainage work, widening the existing roadway, fixing soft spots, adding additional bases and paving the roadway.
The Fremont County segment will consist of constructing a 27-foot-wide, 3-inch-thick asphalt overlay on a pulverized base, with sight distance and clear zone improvements, approach improvements, two large culvert installations and shoulder improvements.
“While the posted speed limit during construction is 25 mph, after the road is open to the public, the speed limit will vary from 25 mph to 45 mph,” said Yin.
Longtime Island Park resident and businessman Ray Pierce, who owns Hardrock50 Rentals on Yale-Kilgore Road, is pleased with the project, saying, “This will dramatically increase accessibility into Island Park’s Shotgun Valley, making commercial lots more valuable.”
In addition to Fremont and Clark counties, project partners include local contractors Gale Lim Construction (Blackfoot) and HK Construction (Idaho Falls), the Bureau of Land Management, Caribou-Targhee National Forest and the Federal Highway Administration Western Federal Lands Highway Division.