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News media gets sneak preview of I-84 interchange projects

In preparation for a trilogy of Interstate 84 interchange projects scheduled to begin next year, ITD and the GARVEE office guided representatives from Treasure Valley news media on a tour of the corridor Monday.

The media event provided reporters with information about traffic impacts, construction plans and a general timeline.

The three interchanges – Meridian, Broadway and Gowen – will be built simultaneously. Preliminary work on the interchanges already is under way. Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2014 and take about 18 months, finishing in late 2015. Building them at the same time significantly reduces the duration of the traffic impact and fits well with GARVEE’s goal to accelerate project deliveries.

Scheduling all three projects at the same time will enable motorists to use the interchanges earlier than if they were built consecutively and will enhance the region’s commerce and commercial transportation.

Traffic volumes have increased significantly since the bridges were built (Meridian in 1965, Broadway and Gowen in 1969), and are expected to at least double in the next few decades.

The projected cost of the three projects is $124 million. Gowen is expected to cost $31 million, Meridian $40 million, and Broadway $53 million. Of the total cost, $80 million is derived from savings in the GARVEE program, while the remaining $44 million will come from federal transportation formula funds.

Three local television stations – KBOI, KIVI and KTVB were on hand for the media event on Monday, along with a reporter from the Kuna-Melba News. Project representatives also conducted a telephone interview from one of the sites with KBOI-Radio.

Photo: GARVEE program manager Amy Schroeder shared a light moment with a KBOI-TV reporter who visited all three interchange locations.