State Highway 55 marker

State Highway 55

SH-55 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by ITD
Length148.701 mi[1] (239.311 km)
Existed1967[2]–present
Tourist
routes		 Payette River Scenic Byway
Major junctions
South end US 95 west of Marsing
Major intersections I-84 / US 30 from Nampa to Meridian
US 20 / US 26 in Eagle
North end US 95 in New Meadows
Location
CountryUnited States
StateIdaho
CountiesOwyhee, Canyon, Ada, Boise, Valley, Adams
Highway system
  • Idaho State Highway System
← SH-54→ SH-57

State Highway 55 (SH-55) is an Idaho highway from Marsing to New Meadows, connecting with US-95 at both ends.

From Marsing it travels east to Nampa, Meridian, and Eagle, then north to Horseshoe Bend. SH-55 then climbs the Payette River to Banks, then its north fork to the Long Valley, through the towns of Cascade and McCall. After descending a narrow canyon to Meadows, SH-55 terminates in New Meadows at the junction with US-95.

Route description

In the southwest corner of Idaho, State Highway 55 starts at the junction with US-95, approximately two miles (3 km) west of Marsing. The highway heads eastward as it travels through Marsing, crosses the Snake River and the Snake River Valley AVA. The highway continues east to Nampa (mostly as Karcher Road), where it meets Interstate 84 and US-30.

The highway is cosigned with those routes as it heads eastward to Meridian. SH-55 turns northward at Eagle Road and crosses the Boise River near Eagle. The junction with SH-44 is in Eagle, where the routes are briefly cosigned.

East of Eagle, SH-55 turns northward and climbs to the Spring Valley and over the Spring Valley Summit, at 4,242 feet (1,293 m) above sea level, then descends 1,600 vertical feet (490 m) on Horseshoe Bend Hill into Horseshoe Bend. The new multi-lane grade was completed in late 1991;[3] the old curvier road is to the west, long plagued by landslides and closures.[4][5] North of Horseshoe Bend, the highway ascends the Payette River and passes through several recreational areas, which offer rafting, fishing, and camping activities. SH-55 continues north, through the small communities of Banks and Smiths Ferry, then crosses the river via the Rainbow Bridge (built in 1933), originally known as the North Fork Bridge.[6]

SH-55 then climbs Round Valley Creek to Round Valley, and continues northward through the extended Long Valley of Valley County to the county seat of Cascade. It ascends a brief summit at 5,207 feet (1,587 m) at Little Donner then descends to follow the east shore of Cascade Reservoir. The route continues northward to Donnelly, the turnoff for Tamarack Resort, located to the southwest, on the western shore of the reservoir. SH-55 continues north through the valley to McCall, at the south shore of Payette Lake, the host of many scenic, recreational, and winter activities.

Southbound Highway 55 at its northern terminus in New Meadows

Meeting the south shore of Payette Lake, State Highway 55 turns westward as Lake Street through McCall and its west "Lardo" area. West of town, the road climbs to the Red Ridge, where it reaches its maximum elevation of 5,324 feet (1,623 m) at the Adams County line, also known as Goose Creek Summit immediately northeast of the Little Ski Hill.

Two miles (3 km) further is the turnoff for the Brundage Mountain ski area, four miles (6 km) north on Goose Lake Road. SH-55 then heads west and enters a narrow and twisty canyon, rapidly descending with Little Goose Creek to Meadows, then to its northern terminus, the junction with US-95 in New Meadows at 3,868 feet (1,180 m) in Meadows Valley.[7]

State Highway 55, from Eagle north to US-95 in New Meadows, is the Payette River Scenic Byway,[8] part of the National Scenic Byways Program.[9]

History

Cascade Dam and reservoir at Cascade in Valley County

The original State Highway 55 ran from US-2 in Colburn to what is now State Highway 200. This highway was decommissioned in October 1955, and is now Colburn-Culver Road.[10]

The current route was designated as State Highway 55 in September 1967, replacing former State Highway 72 and former State Highway 15.[11][2] Idaho State Highway 72 has since been reassigned to another road.

State Highway 55 was originally routed through downtown Boise, and followed the old alignment of State Highway 44 down State Street and 23rd Street to Fairview Avenue. From there it turned westward with US-20, US-26 and US-30. The highway continued westward on the Boise Connector then Interstate 180N (now Interstate 184), and continued west along Interstate 80N (now Interstate 84), where it followed its present alignment toward Nampa.[12]

Prior to the 1990s, the eastern junction with SH-44 in Eagle was a quarter-mile (0.4 km) east at Horseshoe Bend Road, which was SH-55.

In late 2006, the route was realigned away from downtown Nampa when a new interchange, Interchange #33 along Interstate 84 was opened and provided a more direct connection to State Highway 55 from the Interstate. The segments of SH-55 following the former Nampa Boulevard (now Northside Boulevard) and Caldwell Boulevard (now Business Route 84) through Nampa have been decommissioned favoring the more direct routing. From there the highway followed its current alignment from that point to Marsing and its southern terminus at US-95.

Major intersections

CountyLocationmi[7]kmDestinationsNotes
Owyhee​0.000.00 US 95 – Homedale, Payette, Winnemucca
Marsing1.9973.214
 SH-78 south – Grand View, Bruneau, Givens Springs
CanyonNampa16.15425.997 I-84 BL (Caldwell Boulevard)
16.58826.696
 I-84 west (US-30) / Midland Boulevard – Caldwell, Ontario		West end of I-84 / US-30 overlap; SH-55 south follows exit 33A
see I-84 (mile 33.539–45.998)
AdaMeridian29.0646.77
 I-84 east (US-30) / South Eagle Road – Boise		East end of I-84 / US-30 overlap; SH-55 north follows exit 46
Boise–Eagle line33.9254.59 US 20 / US 26 (Chinden Boulevard) – Caldwell, Boise
Eagle35.8357.66
 SH-44 west / Eagle Road – Emmett, Caldwell, Eagle, Firebird		south end of SH-44 overlap
37.7960.82
 SH-44 east – Boise		north end of SH-44 overlap
BoiseHorseshoe Bend57.3092.22
 SH-52 west – Emmett, Payette
Banks78.82126.85Wildlife Canyon Scenic Byway (Banks–Lowman Road) – Garden Valley, LowmanElevation 2,815 ft (860 m)
Valley
 No major junctions
AdamsNew Meadows148.70239.31 US 95 – Council, Grangeville, Lewiston
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. ↑ Idaho Transportation Department, Archived 2012-04-15 at the Wayback Machine
  2. 1 2 "State Highways 15, 72 to Get New '55' Tags". The Idaho Free Press. Nampa, Idaho. December 20, 1967. p. 15. Retrieved November 17, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ↑ "Another bad hill goes down". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. September 24, 1991. p. 6A.
  4. ↑ "Highway 55 due to reopen today". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. February 5, 1982. p. 5C.
  5. ↑ "New paths eyed for Highway 55". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. December 17, 1983. p. 7B.
  6. ↑ "Rainbow Bridge". U.S. Forest Service. Boise National Forest. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  7. 1 2 ITD (May 15, 2015). "State Highway 55 Milepost Log" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 4, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  8. ↑ Idaho Byways - Payette River Scenic Byway Archived 2008-12-10 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ USDOT (2007). "Payette River Scenic Byway". Retrieved 2007-10-31.
  10. ↑ (PDF) https://apps.itd.idaho.gov/Apps/board/minutes/1955.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ↑ (PDF) https://apps.itd.idaho.gov/Apps/board/minutes/1967.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ↑ USGS Map; Boise, Idaho, United States (Map). US Geological Survey. 1976. Retrieved October 31, 2007.
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