I-86

About I-86

From Heyburn, ID (I-84) to Chubbuck, ID (I-15)

This Interstate 86 is the western route of that number, running about 63 miles across southern Idaho from a junction with Interstate 84 near Heyburn to Interstate 15 at Chubbuck, just north of Pocatello. It heads east from the interchange with I-84 as a rural freeway across flat, grassy country along the south side of the Snake River.

The route passes through a sparsely populated stretch of southeastern Idaho, going by American Falls near its midpoint before approaching the Pocatello area. It runs largely concurrently with U.S. Route 30 across the plain, sharing the corridor with the older highway for most of its length.

At its eastern end the freeway passes through the suburb of Chubbuck and ends at Interstate 15 on the north edge of Pocatello. It functions as a connector tying the Burley and Twin Falls corridor on I-84 to the Interstate 15 mainline through eastern Idaho.

State-by-state mileage

State	Miles
Idaho	62.9
Total	62.9

History

This western Interstate 86 was created from a route formerly numbered as a branch of Interstate 15 and renumbered in the late 1970s. Its final sections were completed in the following years, and the highway was dedicated in the mid 1980s before later being signed as I-86.

The designation gave the corridor across the Snake River Plain a distinct Interstate number connecting I-84 with I-15 near Pocatello.

Major cities and places

Did you know

• This is the western I-86, located entirely within Idaho.
• The western terminus is at I-84 near Heyburn and the eastern terminus is at I-15 in Chubbuck.
• It runs largely concurrently with U.S. 30 along the Snake River Plain.
• It passes American Falls near its midpoint in a thinly populated region.