8/12/2009
Reed Hollinshead
ITD Communication
208-334-8881
reed.hollinshead@itd.idaho.gov
Governor Otter joins citizens in Rigby, Pocatello to celebrate beginning of two stimulus-funded highway construction projects
POCATELLO
- Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter joined local residents, business and
government leaders today to formally launch two highway construction projects
that will create jobs, improve safety and reduce congestion in eastern Idaho.
More
than 300 people, including legislators, city and county officials, business
leaders and citizens participated in groundbreaking ceremonies at Rigby High
School and in Chubbuck.
The
Rigby ceremony marked the start of construction to widen Idaho 48 to three
lanes with a right-turn bay added to the high school entrance. The project
includes a bike lane on both sides of the street and the installation of curbs,
gutters and sidewalks along the busy route in Rigby. The $2.93 million project
is estimated to create or sustain approximately 54 jobs. Construction starts today and finishes in late October.
The
ceremony in Chubbuck marked the start of construction of auxiliary lanes on
Yellowstone Avenue (U.S. 91) from Lou Avenue to the Interstate 86/Chubbuck
Interchange, east to I-15 and south to the Pocatello Creek Interchange.
The
additional 3.4 miles of new highway will enable local travelers to move more
quickly and efficiently throughout the Pocatello metropolitan area. The $8.1
million project is estimated to create or sustain approximately 145 jobs.
Construction begins this summer and continues into mid 2011.
"The
projects we begin today in eastern Idaho are a perfect fit for federal stimulus
funds. They will create jobs and help energize our economy while addressing
some long-overdue road improvements that will make motorists safer and make
doing business here more attractive," Governor Otter said. "What we
begin today is a success story, by any measure."
"This
is a day that most of us have been waiting for a long, long time,"
acknowledged state Sen. Diane Bilyeu. "Today, your patience and
persistence are rewarded. Today, we move those plans from the back burner to
the front burner. Today, we begin a new chapter for transportation in the
Chubbuck/Pocatello region."
"On
behalf of the cities of Pocatello and Chubbuck, I want to thank Governor Otter
and the work of his staff and the Idaho Transportation Department for moving
this project from the drawing board to construction," said Pocatello Mayor
Roger Chase.
The
widening of Idaho 48 in our community will improve safety for Rigby High School
students and motorists, Rigby Mayor Keith Smith said. In addition, the turning
lane will reduce congestion.
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MEDIA NOTE (not
for dissemination):
Video/photos: Video clips and photos of the
ceremonies will be available on Aug. 12 in the early afternoon for downloading
from the Idaho Transportation Department's FTP site: ftp://ftp1.idaho.gov.
Log
on with the user name itdcommu and
use the password W39gy7D2.
For those
who do not have the FTP software, the video and photos can be retrieved from http://itd.idaho.gov/news
Radio: Audio clips from the Aug. 12
ceremonies will be e-mailed directly to radio stations following the
ceremonies.