BOISE, ID – After a federal pause halted all work on the project earlier this year, officials in Idaho have applied with the federal government to restart work on a program seeking to develop a connected network of electric vehicle charging stations.

On Sept. 10, Idaho Transportation Department Director L. Scott Stokes submitted Idaho’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure, or NEVI, plans to the Federal Highway Administration and requested Idaho’s share of funding for fiscal year 2022 through fiscal year 2026.

The NEVI program was created to develop a connected network of EV charging stations located every 50 miles along designated interstates and highways.

A working group in Idaho had already gathered public feedback, conducted a study and narrowed down a list of potential sites for charging stations, including potential sites along highway corridors near Bliss, Lewiston and Pocatello.

The identified locations are potential sites for electric vehicle charging stations, but they are not finalized until after the state analyzes applications from stakeholders. (Map courtesy of Idaho NEVI Formula Program’s “Siting, Feasibility, and Access Study”)

However, all work on the program was halted in February after Federal Highway Administration officials sent state transportation directors a letter rescinding all previous guidance for the program and suspending approval of state plans, the Idaho Capital Sun reported.

Federal Highway Administration officials sent the letter halting the project just weeks after President Donald Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20, telling state highway officials to await further guidance from the feds.

That guidance arrived in August, state officials said, and Idaho Transportation Department officials resubmitted Idaho’s plans Sept. 10.

Idaho officials did not make any big changes to their previous plans, which were updated in 2023 and 2024. But they did submit a siting, feasibility and access study from 2024 and point out the locations in the plans that address the latest guidance the federal government gave states in August.

“These four plans provide compliance with all NEVI statutory and regulatory requirements as stated in the (Federal Highway Administration) guidance referenced above,” Stokes wrote in Idaho’s letter.

In an interview Friday, Idaho Transportation Department Communication Manager John Tomlinson said Idaho highlighted how it plans to use NEVI program funds each year, included a community engagement report as requested and provided a description of physical and cybersecurity strategies.

“The immediate next step is we are waiting for approval,” Tomlinson said.

If Idaho’s plans are approved, Tomlinson said the NEVI working group would reconvene and spend several months assessing how to implement the plan.

This story first appeared on Idaho Capital Sun.