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City, officials celebrate groundbreaking for Meridian interchange

The bridge from the past to the future is not often an actual bridge, but in this case it is not just a theoretical concept. It is a tangible object, a structure built in 1965 that is in the process of being replaced. And not a moment too soon, in the minds of a lot of people gathered in a corner of the Home Depot parking lot Tuesday.

With the aging interchange as the backdrop and thousands of vehicles zooming past on the freeway right behind them, officials broke ground on the Meridian interchange April 15. Idaho Transportation Board Chairman Jerry Whitehead emceed the event.

Much of the time was spent paying homage to all of those who laid the groundwork for the interchange rebuild, particularly those who brought to Idaho the GARVEE program. GARVEE is the primary funding source for the project and has contributed $600 million to highway improvements that have transformed the Treasure Valley in the nine years since the bill was signed.

Former Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, who in his previous role as state leader brought GARVEE to Idaho, relayed a story about being a college kid involved in a vehicle rollover on Idaho Highway 55 and being saved from rolling into the Payette River by a huge snowbank.

"From that point forward, no one had to convince me how important our infrastructure is to each of us." Kempthorne also mentioned several times that the biggest benefit to GARVEE is the 89 percent reduction in fatalities and the 80 lives saved annually. "That's 80 more families that won't have to get that excruciating phone call, and 80 more families that are whole for the holidays," he said. "That's a real blessing."

In his comments Kempthorne also singled out then-Idaho Transportation Board Chairman Chuck Winder as being a major part of the GARVEE effort. "The Governor told us that we had the opportunity to make a real difference for years to come if we just thought big enough," said Winder, who is now an Idaho senator.

Lt. Gov. Brad Little focused on the economic benefits of the program, saying that the reduction in congestion will easily pay for the investment. Using a formula that incorporates the traffic volume at peak congestion, the cost of congestion on commercial haulers, and the average hourly wage, he concluded that the benefits far outweigh the temporary inconvenience to drivers. "It's even a no- brainer for me."

GARVEE also has made a significant impact of job creation, one of the Governor's key initiatives – the program created or sustained 10,000 Idaho jobs during the last nine years in the valley.

Through late 2015, the $50.8 million project will replace the interchange with a SPUI (Single Point Urban Interchange) like Vista and Ten Mile, add a fourth lane going and coming on the freeway underneath, add a third lane going and coming over the top on Meridian Road, and install sidewalks and a bike lane.

Kempthorne also addressed a common complaint from the city, saying that when the project is complete and the additional lanes added underneath, "that chokepoint will be no more." That statement brought a huge round of applause, especially from Meridian Mayor Tammy de Weerd.

With the Meridian interchange rebuild underway, and the Ten Mile interchange done a few years ago, Mayor Tammy left no doubt where she'll fix her sights now: the Highway 16 extension.

(Photographs from top) Officials break ground for the rebuilding of the Meridian Interchange. ITD Board Chairman Jerry Whitehead emceed the event. Former Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne helped make the rebuild possible by bring GARVEE to Idaho. The rebuilt interchange will work similar to the Vista and Ten Mile Interchanges.