Published
A driveway onto US-20 is a state permit — and the state wants engineer-stamped plans
Two roads through Island Park, two different permitting authorities
Almost every lot in Island Park eventually touches one of two things: a county road, or US-20. Which one your access meets decides which agency you deal with, and the two are not variations on a theme — they are separate bodies of law, separate forms and separate standards. The who-pulls-the-permit page covers the county side and the question of whose bid includes the paperwork. This page is the other half: what the state actually requires when the access meets the highway.
The governing document is IDAPA 39.03.42, Rules Governing Highway Right-of-Way Encroachments on State Rights-of-Way. It is a state administrative rule, published by the Idaho Office of the Administrative Rules Coordinator, and it is public and free to read. Most owners have never heard of it, and it is the document that decides whether the driveway they have drawn on a napkin can exist at all.
The rule calls a driveway an approach, and the permit an encroachment permit. That vocabulary matters when you telephone, because asking for a "driveway permit" at a state district office invites the answer that they do not issue those.
The sentence that catches people first
No activities will be allowed on State highway rights-of-way until an approved permit has been issued by the Department or a delegated local highway agency.
— IDAPA 39.03.42.200.02 (adminrules.idaho.gov, retrieved 2026-08-17; the subsection carries a 7-1-24 effective marker)
Read it for what it excludes. It is not "no driveway before the permit." It is no activities — which takes in the exploratory cut to see whether the bank will work, the load of pit run tipped at the shoulder because there was nowhere else to put it, and the machine tracked across the right-of-way to reach the back of the property. The right-of-way is usually far wider than the pavement, and the fence line is not the boundary.
The same section is equally plain that the permit is not optional for changes to something already there. It names six actions, and only one of them is building a new driveway:
| The rule's word | What that looks like on a lot here |
|---|---|
| Add | A new approach on frontage that has never had one — the case everybody expects |
| Modify | Widening a narrow field approach to take a delivery truck, or changing its surface or grade |
| Change use | An old farm approach that begins serving a cabin, or a residence that starts taking customers |
| Relocate | Moving an existing approach along the frontage for sight distance or a better building site |
| Maintain | Work on the approach within the right-of-way, which is usually wider than the pavement |
| Remove | Closing an approach — often a condition of being granted a different one |
Change of use is the one that catches inherited and long-held ground. The approach has been there for forty years, nothing is being dug, and the rule still reaches it.
Your district office is in Rigby
The rule names its own offices, which saves guessing:
Permitting process will be administered by the Department or their delegated representative, within the representative's respective jurisdiction. Department District offices are located in Coeur d'Alene, Lewiston, Boise, Shoshone, Pocatello and Rigby.
— IDAPA 39.03.42.200.04 (retrieved 2026-08-17)
Rigby is the one that matters here — roughly an hour down US-20 from Last Chance, and the office that handles this corridor. The rule also allows the Department to delegate permitting to a local highway agency where adequate local ordinances exist, but it keeps final approval on the State Highway System for itself. So even a delegated permit is a state decision at the end.
Engineer-stamped plans, on a private driveway
This is the requirement that changes budgets, and almost nobody expects it.
All permits will specify approach location and use, and be accompanied by approved traffic control plans, design details and specifications that address dust control, site reclamation, environmental protection and work site safety. The applicant will be required to submit construction plans stamped by an engineer licensed in the state of Idaho to the Department for approval.
— IDAPA 39.03.42.200.11 (retrieved 2026-08-17)
A county approach on a gravel road is a form and a site visit. A state approach, read straight, brings in a licensed engineer, a traffic control plan for work in the travel lane, and written provision for dust, reclamation and environmental protection. Telephone the Rigby office early about how that requirement is applied to a single-residence approach — the answer decides whether you hire an operator or an engineer first, and the call is free.
Every clock the permit runs on
The rule sets several deadlines that run independently, and missing one usually means starting the application over rather than paying a late fee.
| Clock | Length | What happens at the end |
|---|---|---|
| Notice before work begins | 5 working days | If work does not begin immediately, the permittee must notify the Department before commencing |
| Completion after construction starts | 30 days | Work must be complete and available for final inspection, unless the permit's special provisions say otherwise |
| Permit life | 1 year | If the permitted work is not complete within a year of issuance, the permit is void |
| Extension | 6 months, once | At the Department's discretion, if requested in writing before the permit expires |
| Application inactivity | 1 year | If the process is not completed within a year through the applicant's inactivity, the application is void |
| Temporary encroachment | 1 calendar year | Must be removed within 10 days of expiry |
The thirty-day one is the trap on a seasonal build. The clock starts when construction begins, not when the ground thaws, so an approach opened in October and left for spring is not a paused job — it is an expired one, on a permit that also has a hard annual limit behind it.
What the review actually looks at
The rule lists the review criteria, and the list explains why an application can be slow for reasons that have nothing to do with your driveway:
| What is evaluated | Why it can stall an application that looks simple |
|---|---|
| Current access control requirements | Some frontage has had its access rights limited by the state long before you bought it, and nothing on the ground shows it |
| Deed restrictions | A restriction recorded against the title can bar the access the seller described |
| Safety and capacity requirements | Sight distance over a rise or around a curve is judged on site, not from the plan |
| Design and location standards, or an approved variance | Width, radii and spacing all have published minimums; a variance has to be justified and documented |
| Environmental impacts | Drainage, wetland and waterway questions on a corridor full of both |
| Location conflicts | Utilities, other encroachments, and scheduled highway work on your frontage |
| Long-range planning goals | A corridor plan you cannot see from the lot and were never told about |
| The need for an appraisal | Named in the rule as a review consideration in its own right |
The review formally begins the day you submit the signed application and pay the initial fee. If the Department decides there is insufficient documentation, the process goes on hold until the paperwork arrives — on hold, not in the queue.
The rule also requires that conflicts between your proposed encroachment and highway maintenance or construction projects, utilities, or other encroachments be resolved before an application is approved. A repaving project scheduled on your frontage is therefore your problem too.
How a denial works, and why you may never see one in writing
This is an unusual piece of drafting and worth knowing before you telephone:
Applications for encroachments not allowed will be verbally denied. If the applicant insists on proceeding with the application, the non-refundable fee will be accepted and a permit denial issued by certified letter. Upon receipt of the denial letter, the applicant can appeal the Department's action.
— IDAPA 39.03.42.200.13 (retrieved 2026-08-17)
A verbal no is the default, and there is nothing to appeal until you have paid for a written one. If an approach genuinely matters to a purchase, the sequence in the rule is the sequence to use: insist, pay the non-refundable fee, take the certified letter, and appeal from there. An owner who accepts the telephone answer has no record and no appeal.
The order to work in
- Establish which road your access meets before anything else. US-20 is the state's; a county road is the county's; the answer changes every step below.
- Telephone the Rigby district office early and ask how the stamped-plan requirement is applied to a single-residence approach on your stretch. Do this before you price the work.
- Ask about access spacing at the same time — the rule sets minimum distances between approaches, and on a rural state route they run to hundreds of feet. It is the constraint most likely to move where your driveway can go, so raise it in the first call rather than after the survey.
- Settle the culvert question with the same office — drainage under the approach is part of the design, and the culvert page covers how that call gets made.
- Settle the approach width and radii against the rule's table before a machine is booked, so the finished shape is permittable rather than merely convenient.
- Submit the signed application and pay the initial fee — the review does not start until both have happened.
- Do not touch the right-of-way until the approved permit is in hand, including for exploratory digging or material storage.
- Plan the build so construction and final inspection fit inside thirty days, and keep the permit and its special provisions at the work site while work is in progress — the rule requires that too.
What it means for the bid you are comparing
An operator quoting a state approach and one quoting a county approach are not quoting the same job, and the gap is not margin. Ask directly whether a quote includes the encroachment permit and the stamped plans, or assumes you are supplying both.
One clause belongs in that conversation: by accepting the permit you agree to hold harmless and defend the state, regardless of outcome, against claims arising from any act, omission, neglect or misconduct of the permittee or its contractor. That is your signature carrying the contractor's work — a good reason to know who is insured for what before the machine arrives.
Re-verify before you rely on any figure here. Administrative rules are amended, and this page was written from the current published text retrieved on 2026-08-17. The rule is free to read at adminrules.idaho.gov, and the Rigby district office answers the telephone.
Common questions
Do I need a state permit for a driveway onto US-20 in Island Park?
Yes. US-20 is a state highway, so a new approach onto it requires an encroachment permit from the Idaho Transportation Department under IDAPA 39.03.42. Fremont County permits accesses onto county roads; it does not permit accesses onto the state highway.
What is an encroachment permit?
It is the state's written authorisation to use state highway right-of-way for something other than normal travel. The rule expressly requires encroachment permits for private and public approaches, meaning driveways and streets, as well as utilities and other encroachments.
Which ITD office handles Island Park?
The rule names six district offices: Coeur d'Alene, Lewiston, Boise, Shoshone, Pocatello and Rigby. Rigby is the district office for this corridor, roughly an hour down US-20 from Last Chance.
Can I start any work before the permit is issued?
No. IDAPA 39.03.42.200.02 says no activities will be allowed on state highway rights-of-way until an approved permit has been issued. That covers exploratory digging and storing material on the right-of-way, not just building the approach itself.
Does a private driveway really need engineer-stamped plans?
The rule says the applicant will be required to submit construction plans stamped by an Idaho-licensed engineer for approval. How that is applied to a single-residence approach is worth confirming with the Rigby district office before you price the work, but the requirement is in the rule text.
How long is the permit good for once it is issued?
If the permitted work is not completed within one year of issuance the permit is void. Separately, all permitted work must be complete and available for final inspection within thirty days after construction begins, unless the permit's special provisions say otherwise.
Can I get an extension?
At the Department's discretion, a one-time extension not exceeding six months may be granted if the permittee requests it in writing before the permit expires. Requesting it afterwards is not provided for, and new applications are required for additional work after expiry.
What happens if my application just sits there?
If the permitting process is not completed within one year as a result of inactivity on the applicant's part, the application is considered void and you start again.
Do I need a permit if I am only regrading an approach that already exists?
The permit requirement reaches anyone planning to add, modify, change use, relocate, maintain, or remove an encroachment. Maintenance and change of use are both named, so an existing field approach that begins serving a cabin is within the rule. Ask the district office about your specific case.
If they say no on the telephone, is that the final answer?
Not necessarily. The rule says applications for encroachments not allowed will be verbally denied, and that if the applicant insists on proceeding, the non-refundable fee is accepted and a denial issues by certified letter, which can then be appealed. There is nothing to appeal until you have the written denial.
Am I responsible for my contractor's work on the right-of-way?
In accepting an approved permit the permittee agrees to hold harmless and defend the state, regardless of outcome, against claims arising from acts, omissions, neglect or misconduct of the permittee or its contractor. Confirm insurance before work starts.
Where can I read the rule myself?
IDAPA 39.03.42 is published free at adminrules.idaho.gov. This page was written from the current text retrieved 2026-08-17; administrative rules are amended, so check the current version before relying on any figure.