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Damaged digital sign on I-184 to be replaced

Replacement of the overhead Dynamic Message Sign on Interstate-184 (the Connector) will close the westbound (outbound) lanes of I-184 at 13th Street from 8 p.m. Sept. 8 through 5 a.m. the following day. The existing sign was installed in the summer of 2000.

It was hit and damaged by a truck boom Nov. 5, 2012, and is being replaced at the insurance carrier’s expense. The sign is valued at $110,000. The sign weighs 3,700 pounds, sits at least 25 feet above the roadway and is tall enough that a person can walk inside where the electronic master controls reside.

During the closure, drivers will detour onto Grove Street, then travel on Main Street and back onto the Connector at the Fairview ramp.

The new sign will have the latest electronics and brighter LED lights for greater readability, but the main upgrade, according to ITD’s Gary Sanderson, is faster service. “It will operate via fiber optic cable rather than ethernet, similar to the traffic signals in town.”

ITD crews will provide traffic-control services for installation of the high-tech sign over the westbound lanes, and Quality Electric, of Boise, install it.

Published 8-30-13