Cotterell Rest Area earns kudos

The Cotterell Rest Area, located in eastern Cassia County at milepost 229, about seven miles southeast from the Interstate 84/Interstate 86 junction, recently earned a positive comparison to surrounding facilities from an experienced traveler.

On the morning of June 28, Joan Quigley emailed her compliments to ITD on the rest area and it’s caretaker, Gail Turpin, for the “immaculate restrooms.” Quigley said that “on our four-state trip, she had the cleanest restrooms.”

The Cotterell Rest Area is the busiest facility of its kind in District 4 (south-central Idaho) and one of the busiest in the state, due in part to it being paired with the Cotterell Port of Entry. While the overall average daily traffic for I-84 through the area is about 7,900 – with nearly half of that commercial vehicles – nearly 5,000 vehicles per day enter the Cotterell Rest Area and Port of Entry.

The eastbound facility (pictured) averages about 2,300 vehicle and the westbound about 2,600 vehicles each day. The rest-area facilities for both directions were reconstructed in 2013 and earned a first-place award from the ACEC (American Council of Engineering Companies) of Idaho for engineering excellence. In addition to rebuilding the restroom facilities and revamping the water and wastewater systems, work included lengthening the entry and exit lanes to the rest area from the freeway to improve drivers’ safety.

The Cotterell Rest Area was first built in 1966.


Published 07-17-15