3/11/2010
Construction of Menan-Lorenzo Interchange to begin Monday (March 15)
RIGBY ‑ Construction of the Menan‑Lorenzo Interchange (overpass) on U.S. Highway 20 north of Rigby will begin Monday (March 15), the Idaho Transportation Department announced.
Traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction, and the speed limit will be reduced to 45 mph in the construction zone. Work will take place Monday through Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
During construction, motorists should watch for construction workers and equipment and obey all traffic signs.
Initial work will be the installation of a 550-foot-long concrete culvert under U.S. 20 to carry the water of the Island Canal at Lorenzo. Installation is scheduled to take five weeks.
In preparation for installation, crews will close 700 North on each side of U.S. 20. Drivers must then use 600 North, 605 North, and the Menan‑Lorenzo Highway intersection to access areas east and west of the federal route.
Western Construction Inc. of Boise is the contractor for the $378,000 culvert installation contract. Oldcastle Precast Inc. of Idaho Falls manufactured the box culvert at a cost of $639,000.
After the culvert is installed, the interchange project will be advertised and bids opened in late April. The project will raise U.S. 20 to pass over the Menan‑Lorenzo Highway and will realign and improve the Menan‑Lorenzo Highway south of its current location.
As construction starts, the contractor will permanently close all direct accesses to U.S. 20 between Rigby and the Snake River, including 600 North, 605 North, 700 North, Labelle exit, old Menan‑Lorenzo Highway exit and Blue Heron Inn exit. Motorists thereafter must access areas east and west of U.S. 20 via the north Rigby interchange and the Menan-Lorenzo interchange when it is complete.
Eliminating direct access onto busy state highways improves highway safety, since such intersections create dangerous conflict points for through and local traffic.
The transportation department estimates the project will be finished in August 2011, at a cost of $10 to $15 million.
During construction, the Lorenzo Boat Ramp exit and the Archer exit (River Bridge Road) north of the river will remain open, except drivers will not be able to turn south onto U.S. 20 from the River Bridge Road intersection, which runs east into 6800 South in Madison County.
The new interchange will include north and south entrances and exits to improve entrance onto and exit from both U.S. 20 and the Menan-Lorenzo Highway.
The transportation department soon will begin advertising the construction of the full interchange to potential contractors. Work on this main part of the project will begin in May.
To obtain necessary right of way for the project, the transportation department purchased property from 25 landowners along the planned site of the interchange.
For information on construction projects and road conditions of Idaho highways, visit the Idaho Traveler Services Web site at 511.idaho.gov or dial 5-1-1 on phones within the state. Outside Idaho, dial toll-free (888) 432-7623. Information is updated as conditions change.